CDC To Begin Testing Trailers For Formaldehyde

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CDC To Begin Testing Trailers For Formaldehyde

FEMA continues efforts to move residents out of trailers

Release Date: December 13, 2007

Release Number: HQ-07-245a

http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=41921

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NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced

today that testing for formaldehyde levels in trailers and mobile

homes will begin Friday, December 21, 2007. Testing will take place

in Mississippi and Louisiana. The testing comes in response to a

request from FEMA for assistance in answering questions related to

indoor air quality and health in order to answer concerns raised by

residents and community members.

CDC will begin indoor air sampling to determine formaldehyde levels

inside a representative sample of occupied trailers and mobile homes

purchased by FEMA to provide temporary housing for Gulf Coast

residents. Models to be tested include travel trailers; modified

travel trailers, often called " park models; " and mobile homes.

Currently, no federal guidelines or scientific standards exist

related to formaldehyde levels in travel trailers. CDC will provide

guidance to FEMA and information to trailer residents based on

scientific findings. The guidance will help residents understand

what the test results mean for them, and it will help FEMA establish

priorities for which families may be in most urgent need of

permanent housing. FEMA has placed a priority on moving people out

of temporary housing.

" We are mindful of the importance of this information to people who

have been living in temporary housing for such a long time, " said

Dr. Henry Falk, director of CDC's Coordinating Center for

Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, said. " This is a

complex task. Knowledge about health effects of formaldehyde on long-

term residents of temporary housing is limited. Levels we find in

these tests will help everyone involved in this process make better

informed decisions about what steps to take. "

" FEMA's first priority has been and continues to be the health and

safety of temporary housing residents, " said FEMA Administrator

ison. " Upon request, FEMA will continue to move any

temporary housing unit resident with a formaldehyde concern into a

hotel or motel immediately and will work with all residents to

provide them a housing alternative. Every occupant who has

expressed a health concern through our hotline has been offered a

housing alternative and we are continuing to work with each of them

to find a permanent housing solution that meets their needs. "

CDC will take samples of air inside about 500 occupied trailers and

mobile homes. Residents are encouraged to participate in the testing

if contacted, but participation is not required. Testing will take

approximately five weeks. A summary of findings will follow in early

2008, when all testing has been completed and the data have been

analyzed. At the same time, residents who participated in the

testing will be notified of the results for their residences.

Formaldehyde is common in the environment and is used in

manufacturing a variety of building products. Formaldehyde has been

found in almost all indoor environments. It is also a by-product of

combustion and certain other natural processes. Thus, it may be

present in substantial concentrations both indoors and outdoors.

While some mitigation activities may help reduce formaldehyde

levels, all residents continue to be encouraged to seek long-term

housing solutions. FEMA is working with the Departments of Housing

and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs and others to provide

sufficient housing for all residents seeking to move out of trailers

and mobile homes.

The indoor air quality assessment is one of several actions CDC has

initiated to assist FEMA in protecting the health of temporary

housing residents. The other public health activities include:

Convening a panel of experts to identify and advise on health issues

that could be associated with long-term residence in temporary

housing units, such as travel trailers.

Assessing formaldehyde levels across different models and types of

unoccupied trailers to identify the factors that reduce or heighten

those levels. This assessment also involves identifying cost-

effective ways to reduce or lower formaldehyde levels and

concentrations in temporary housing environments. This series of

tests includes conducting an emissions study of building materials

in conjunction with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Conducting a study that looks at the health of children currently

living in trailers along with a long-term study of children born

while their families resided in FEMA trailers and mobile homes in

Mississippi and Louisiana.

Providing educational materials and information to trailer residents

about the CDC studies as well as steps that can be taken to improve

indoor air quality.

The two agencies have established toll-free hotlines to respond to

public inquiries. FEMA employees are available to discuss housing

concerns at 1-866-562-2381, or TTY 1-800-462-7585. CDC specialists

will respond to health-related concerns at 1-800- CDC-INFO.

FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for,

preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering

from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including

acts of terror.