BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. -- For nearly a year now, the ubiquitous FEMA trailer has sheltered tens of thousands of Gulf Coast residents left homeless by Hurricane Katrina. But there is growing concern that even as it staved off the elements, it was exposing its inhabitants to a toxic gas that could pose both immediate and long-term health risks.
The gas is formaldehyde, the airborne form of a chemical used in a wide variety of products, including composite wood and plywood panels in the thousands of travel trailers that the Federal Emergency Management Agency purchased after Katrina to house hurricane victims. It also is considered a human carcinogen, or cancer-causing substance, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Air quality tests of 44 FEMA trailers conducted by the Sierra Club since April have found formaldehyde concentrations as high as 0.34 parts per million – a level nearly equal to what a professional embalmer would be exposed to on the job, according to one study of the chemical’s workplace effects.
And all but four of the trailers have tested higher than the 0.1 parts per million that the EPA considers to be an “elevated level” capable of causing watery eyes, burning in the eyes and throat, nausea, and respiratory distress in some people.
Becky Gillette, co-chair of the Mississippi chapter of the environmental group, said that representatives also have heard from numerous trailer inhabitants who say they began experiencing health problems ranging from headaches and runny noses to chronic respiratory problems and nosebleeds as soon as they moved in.
As a result of its testing and such accounts, the Sierra Club is pushing for a congressional investigation of the potential health hazards posed by the trailers.
“It’s simply wrong that the government would spend billions of dollars to poison people in these toxic tin cans,” Gillette said.
Pediatrician saw unusual illnesses
Dr. Scott Needle, a pediatrician in Bay St. Louis, said he noticed some unusual and persistent health problems among his patients living in the trailers well before the possible link to formaldehyde exposure surfaced.
“I was seeing kids coming in with respiratory complaints – colds and sinus infections – and they were getting them over and over again,” he said. “…Almost invariably, these families were staying in the FEMA trailers.”
A class-action lawsuit also has been filed in Louisiana, naming the federal government and trailer manufacturers as defendants and alleging that “the temporary housing is unsafe and presents a clear and present danger to the health and well-being of plaintiffs and their families.”
Read previous story: The lowdown on a Katrina icon
Despite the Sierra Club tests – and air quality testing by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in November that detected formaldehyde levels at FEMA trailer holding stations on the Gulf Coast as high as 5.0 parts per million, or 50 times the EPA’s “elevated” level – FEMA says the trailers are safe and there is no need for it to conduct its own air-quality testing.
“FEMA stands confident in using travel trailers for emergency sheltering,” said agency spokesman Aaron Walker. “… To put it in perspective, we have almost 115,000 trailers out right now, and FEMA has received just over 20 complaints total.”
Better ventilation recommended
Walker said those experiencing any adverse reactions to the trailer environment can likely resolve the issue by increasing ventilation.
“We encourage families living in the trailers, if they’re worried, to take steps to air out their trailers,” he said. “… If a family is uncomfortable with their trailer, they’re welcome to call our trailer hot line (and) we can come out and test their trailer and have a look at it.”
Trailer manufacturers contacted by MSNBC.com declined to comment on the issue because of the pending litigation and directed inquiries to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association.
RVIA spokesman Kevin Broom echoed Walker in saying that the gas in the trailers poses no health threat.
“The industry uses low-emitting materials, so formaldehyde has not been an issue for 15 or 20 years at least,” he said.
Broom acknowledged that the high heat and humidity in the Gulf Coast could increase the rate of formaldehyde “outgassing” from wood products trailers, but added that ventilation should quickly take care of any problem.
“You can get it to dissipate very easily if you just ventilate it,” he said. “People may just need to be shown how to open the windows.”
Mary DeVany, an industrial hygienist from Vancouver, Wash., who has studied the formaldehyde issue, agrees that the high heat and humidity in the hurricane-ravaged zone exacerbate the problem. But she believes that the higher-than-usual readings in the FEMA trailers could be the result of the rush to manufacture the trailers in the wake of Katrina.
“Typically with these plywood and particleboard materials … before assembly they’re put in ovens that heat them to 130 degrees,” she said. “This sets and bakes off the formaldehyde in the glues and resins. ... I’m not sure that happened in this case because the trailers were made so fast.”
The RVIA’s Broom disputes that notion, saying such “baking” is performed by the manufacturer to reduce the formaldehyde leakage.
“That’s not something the RV industry would do,” he said of the process. “They would be buying certified low- emission materials.”
A patchwork of standards
Any effort to determine whether the formaldehyde levels present in the trailers pose a health threat is exacerbated by the patchwork of standards in place to regulate exposure to the chemical – none of which apply to travel trailers or recreational vehicles.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development limits the use of formaldehyde-emitting products in manufactured homes -- setting a standard of 0.2 parts per million for plywood and 0.3 parts per million for particleboard materials. But the agency does not regulate travel trailers or motor homes, probably because it was never anticipated that people would spend long periods of time living in them, said the Sierra Club’s Gillette.
The lack of an exposure standard reflects a bigger issue, said Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer American Lung Association.
“The real problem is we haven’t done for indoor pollution what we’ve done four outdoor pollution and set national standards,” he said. “There are no indoor air quality air standards and I really think Congress should empower the EPA and NIOSH (the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) to set standards.”
Nor is there agreement on the long-term health risks from exposure to formaldehyde.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, classified it as “carcinogenic to humans” in June 2004 after reviewing 40 human studies, including a National Cancer Institute study linking exposure to an elevated risk of rare nasopharyngeal cancer.
California cracking down
The California Air Resources Board has identified formaldehyde as a “toxic air contaminant” after state experts concluded that, based on current research, there is “no safe exposure threshold … to preclude cancer.” The agency is currently developing regulations aimed at sharply reducing the amount of formaldehyde products used in the state by 2010.
But no U.S. health or environmental agencies have followed the IARC in declaring the chemical to be a human carcinogen, saying more research is necessary. And the industry groups have sponsored research that they say shows the potential risk associated with exposure has been overblown.
“All of the available and still-emerging human health research data is demonstrating that if formaldehyde exposure is kept below levels that produce chronic irritation and overt target tissue damage, the risk of cancer is essentially zero,” according to the Formaldehyde Council, an industry group.
The debate is far from academic for Katrina survivors who are nearing their one-year anniversary living in the trailers.
DeVany, the industrial hygienist, said that children and the elderly are most at risk, the former because they have higher respiration rates than adults and the latter because they are likely to be exposed to the fumes more than those who work and only return to their trailers at night.
“A year from now, the formaldehyde will be gone, but the permanent and lasting effects from these exposures will not,” she said.
Fumes forced couple to flee
Sounding a similar warning, though one born from personal experience, are Paul and Melody Stewart of Bay St. Louis, who say formaldehyde forced them out of their FEMA trailer and into their truck.
The couple said that even though they had a friend air out the Cavalier trailer and run the heater before they arrived, the smell when they walked in was overpowering. And Melody said she had a nosebleed the first night they stayed in it.
“(The smell) was really bad, but we went and ahead and went to bed,” she said. “Within hours, I woke up to the smell – it was that strong – and I was gasping for fresh air. I ran to the window.”
The couple continued to ventilate the trailer and also tried removing composite wood panels from beneath the bed and table bench and replacing them with solid wood, but nothing seemed to help.
Finally, when their pet cockatiel took ill, they decided they had to do something.
“We got up one morning and the cockatiel was lethargic, wouldn’t move, was losing its balance,” said Paul, a police officer in neighboring Waveland. “… (Later), the vet told us unequivocally, ‘Look, you either get the bird out of that environment or he’s going to die.’”
The Stewarts complained to FEMA and received two replacement trailers – the first of which also smelled of formaldehyde and a second that had swathes of mold and a stove top that looked like it had been “used at a Waffle House,” Paul said.
Fed up, they called FEMA and told the agency to come take the trailer away, then spent five days living in their truck before using their last $50,000 in savings to buy a “fifth-wheel” trailer devoid of any formaldehyde odor.
“We took what resources we had left, and what we really should have used to rebuild our house, and went out and bought our own camper,” Paul said.
Since then, the Stewarts have granted numerous media interviews, intent on spreading word of the possible hazards.
“We’re here because there are so many people at risk (and) they’re in the shadows,” Melody said. “You’ve got Christians, hard-working people that have lost their jobs and retired people who have paid their dues to society, and we’re putting them at risk by letting them stay in these campers.”
Race for the building bonanza
EMAIL THIS
TRACKBACKS
Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do no appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451b0aa69e200d834911b6b53ef
advertisement
I love how so many of you, who aren't living in a FEMA trailer, are so quick to offer your opinions on how great these people have it. You keep talking about how ungrateful they are. If someone is starving and you give them rotten meat, are they supposed to thank you for it? According to most of you--yes--they should be grateful to get it. That's sad. If the tests done are true (and it is the duty of the government to do a test of their own rather than just write it off as nonsense), then it is our duty to help people get out of that environment. Frankly, what the heck are people still doing living in trailers over a year later, while tons of money has been mispent on ridiculous items (see the MSNBC article on that)? Our government has failed these people--and if any one of you actually had to live through it, then perhaps you'd speak differently. People worked their butts off their whole lives for homes that were gone in an instant, and many of them aren't getting reimbursement from their insurance companies. If you want to blame someone, blame the insurance, for doing everything they can to get out of paying for their customers' home repair.
Stephanie, Cincinnati, OH (Sent Jul 24, 2006 11:57:15 AM)
You know the thing that is amazing to me is that most of the people with ALL the solutions to the problem DO NOT LIVE HERE and go thru Katrina and is not the ones trying to rebuild from NOTHING that is the key word here. NOTHING because of what ever reason, whether its the insurance that their agent told them they had and not knowing for example. I see people everyday trying their best to come out of the rubble and just hope that all the ones with the solutions never have to deal with it because I think it will be a true wakeup call. Oh and yes I was here the day Katrina visited.
V Bunch , Centreal Mississippi (Sent Jul 24, 2006 11:57:34 AM)
As someone born in Louisiana, I do have sympathy for the folks who lost all. However, since the complaints are approximate 20 in number, out of 115,000, that seems to indicate that the number of potentially dangerous units is slim. A test of 40 in the same polluted enviroment is hardly scientific.
It seems it would be a better solution to investigate the complaining units, rather than suddenly have an outside organization condem them all & vanish when the requests for help are made (that would be you, Sierra Club).
Ty Taxpayer Columbus, oh (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:01:11 PM)
If it was up to the Sierra Club we would set around in the dark and freeze to death. They dont want Nuc,coal,anything that would make life easy for us. So why would they not want us to set out side in the heat and rain in the south. Tell them to come set with us. At leat we have some shelter from the Fed's. I dont see sny shelter from Sierra Club.
John Stockmen, N.O. LA (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:01:35 PM)
Question for my fellow Illinoisan from LaSalle, who says he has camped in a camper for years and never heard of anyone getting sick in their camper, even after they've been there for weeks:
People in FEMA trailers usually live in them for MONTHS--if not at least a year--so they'd be in them for a much longer time. Maybe that makes a difference?
Also, I'm no expert on trailers, but wouldn't the government obtain FEMA trailers from the lowest bidder--so naturally, their quality wouldn't be that of a privately-purchased camper/trailer?
Olivia Elizabeth Burdon, Peoria, Ill. (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:02:38 PM)
We have been manufacturing RV's with this kind of materials for decades and now this is a issue? Like we use anything different than conventional home construction. Open a window...simple as that. Same as a new house...it needs ventilated until the fumes taper off in the heat. I am sure someone will get sued and the people that made off like bandits with the first go round of money that was issued out will prosper once again from trying to help out those in need.
Brian, Ligonier, Indiana (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:04:38 PM)
Sure why not blame the Republicans. I bet if Katrina would have happened when Bill Clinton was in office, he would have seduced your wife before he gave you a "free" camper. And why blame FEMA, they only PAID for the campers (with taxpayers money of course), the manufacturers are realy to blame. But why complain about a FREE CAMPER, I wish I had one.
Bruce, Shreveport LA (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:05:33 PM)
Way to go Sierra Club, way to attack the government for everything that is wrong in this country AGAIN. Instead of catering to the complaints of a few, why don't you work with local agencies and our government to find a long-term solution to get these people back on their own feet? How about we all stop suing each other and get on with our lives? Most Americans have no idea what it is like to really suffer and this is evidence of that.
Laura, Illinois (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:07:15 PM)
More of the same; an incompetent FEMA, an incompetent administration and racists defending them.
Tired of greedy, insensitive people ... (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:11:12 PM)
Can you say? "Personal responsibility". Sure you can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You have to be responsible to and for yourself. And stop blameing the govt for all your problems and looking also to the govt. to cure all your problems too.
Logical Thinker Hendersonville NC (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:11:15 PM)
OF COURSE THE TOXIC TRAILERS ARE A REPUBLICAN CONSPIRACY. WE ALL KNOW THAT THERE ARE NO POOR REPUBLICANS. THE SIERRA CLUB SHOULD NOT START TROUBLE UNLESS THEY HAVE A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM. OF COURSE IF THAT WERE THE CASE, THERE WOULD BE KNOW SIERRA CLUB OR RIDICULOUS LAW SUITS THAT ARE ALWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SIERRA CLUB.
KEVIN (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:14:59 PM)
You people make me sick... The government didn't have to do anything for you, but they did... They didn't have to come rescue you and feed you, but they did... Even with all the complaining that took place... You live a long the coast line, what the heck did you think a hurricane was just a little of wind and rain... Hello, wake up... You chose to build there and live there... Thats the first stupid thing you did... I am so sick and tired of hereing about Hurricane Katrina victims... They have been given more things for free than anyone else from any other natural distaster known to man, but its not enough... GO FIGURE!!! They want more... Why don't you take the blame and say you no I did choose to live on the coast and you know I knew in the back of my mind that this could possibly happen... The government didn't make you live there it was a CHOICE... I hope I don't need to help you understand what a choice is either? Just so you know I grew up in Florida, and I've been through 3 hurricanes... Do I still live there, NO!!! Why? Because I CHOSE to get away... That was a choice that I made...
Brent A Lewis, Johnson City, TN (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:17:31 PM)
Amen, Ken Howard said it best!
Jackie, New York (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:20:12 PM)
$50,000.000 for a new trailer??? Why would you spend that kind of money on a trailer instead of starting to build your home? That makes absolutely no sense!! Sounds like they wanted FEMA and all of us generous Americans to pay to build them a new mansion right where the next hurricane can wipe that out also. The "victims" got government paid credit cards, trailers, and no telling what else. Do the "victims" want us to finish raising their kids and paying off all of their bills for the rest of their lives while we are at it. At what point do you take some initiative and responsibilty and quit complaining that you didn't get enough hand-outs and freebies. After 3 trailers weren't good enough and the appliances weren't up to par, I AM FRESH OUT OF SYMPATHY!!! GIVE ME A BREAK-be grateful and shut up. I'd like to know how much all of these whiners donated to their fellow Americans' in Florida or the Carolinas when hurricanes hit. Move, get a job, and pay your own way - the rest of us are tired of supporting you.
Leslie, Amarillo, Texas (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:20:29 PM)
Here's the alternativeto the trailers, cost less and is better.
Will we use them? hell no, makes too much sense
http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/060316katrina.asp
Jeff, New Orleans, LA (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:20:46 PM)
With respect to the formaldehyde emmissions, it is coming from the panel imported from Asia. The glue used over there consists of a very high level of formaldehyde which off gasses under intense heat. Ventilating these trailers will not really help the situation, as the glue trapped between the veneers in the panels will continue to break down over a long period of time during high tempuratures. As an importer, I am very familiar with this issue. I can assume the RV's in question were built with High Formaldehyde MR Glue, which isn't meant to be used in this application. Simply taking out the domestically made particle board shelves and under bedding support won't work. The walls and floors are made of this imported plywood and there is not solution short of moving out. :(
Joe Import (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:30:38 PM)
Gee, who is surprised? I suggest the individuals who are in these cancer-causing campers grab their blankets and go outside and sleep on the ground. Of course, there are toxic insects out there that they'll have to watch out for....and grass. It's likely that many of these people will be allergic to the grass. Heck, the pollen will likely be the death of them. Forget about sleeping outside.
Joanna (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:30:50 PM)
Let me see, is this not the same materials used in new homes, mobile homes, campers, and travel trailers. That Smell is what is called the Smell of a new home. It will keep bugs out for about a year. The Sierra Club might be corrrect about this one but it needs to look at the rest of the picture.
Danny Dixon Havelock, NC (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:32:34 PM)
Come on people, this stuff is all around us in our houses, cars and most other manufactured products we buy. Just because someone says it's safe doesn't mean it is. The complexity of all our house hold polutants is killing us. As for Recreational vechicles they are meant for recreation not permenant housing, so of course there is an issue when people live in them 24/7 for a year +.
Tiffany, Houston, TX (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:36:00 PM)
I am amazed at the vitriol out there when categorizing victims of Katrina. Unbelievable, no wonder our government is screwed up.
Kudos to the Sierra Club. Goes to show at least someone cares about the Katrina victims. Although I am not a "minority" a lot of these comments, IMO, smack of frank racism
Anna Smity (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:38:48 PM)
I bought a travel trailer one year ago and immediately had that same reaction, burning eyes, trouble breathing. Ventillation does help, but why the hell do they have to use something toxic in the first place? Can't they use non-toxic glues. What are we ginny pigs? I camped for ten days with my 8 month old baby. Now I'm worried about his developing lungs. Shame on all the RV manufacturers who dont have the decency to think about their customers health. Anyone who defends this practice is just a plain fool. Some of the responses I'm reading here are ridiculous. We have the right to buy products that don't kill us. Don't defend these idiotic companies. Demand better products.
John Lewis, Three Rivers Michigan (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:39:39 PM)
The trailers were ok with me. I was thankful to be blessed with a place to live. The smell went away after while. It was certainly much better than living in the streets.
grateful (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:40:15 PM)
We have become a nation of wimps. Global warming and anything else eviromentalists can skew up to scare the public into a frenzy. It is all aimed at one thing-to get this nation to be free of any one who can think for themselves (repiblicans0
shannon knight (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:42:01 PM)
"So just what does the Sierra Club suggest would have been a more acceptable answer to the problem of the epidemic of homelessness that occurred in the wake of Katrina?? "
These would have been a better answer to the problem but FEMA is only allowed to supply "temporary" housing.
http://www.cusatocottages.com/index_content.html
Taylor; Jackson, Miss. (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:43:45 PM)
So how many do you think are going to jump on this bandwagon?? Gee, I'm starting to have watery eye, burning in the throat and respitory distress....can I get $1.2 million?
tired of blaming everyone else (Sent Jul 24, 2006 12:45:45 PM)
SEND A COMMENT
PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.