Baby Death Due To FEMA Formaldehyde Poison

The Sea Coast Echo

A Bay St. Louis resident who worked in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency following Hurricane Katrina alleges the embattled agency knew of potentially dangerous levels of formaldehyde in trailers in December 2005 and the death of a Diamondhead newborn may be connected. A congressional hearing held last month have resulted in changes to many of FEMA’s procedures, including distributing formaldehyde information, revising guidelines of swapping trailers to temporally halting sales and deployment of travel trailers. The hearing comes after nearly a year of investigations by the media and public interest groups.

But Jesse Fineran, a former Hancock County Emergency Operations Center hazardous material specialist, said he brought the issue to the attention of numerous federal agencies in the daily meetings Hancock County EOC with government representatives nearly two years ago.
Fineran’s involvement began in October 2005, when his wife, who has asthma, needed aid after stepping into the couple’s son’s FEMA trailer. Fineran received a trailer a couple of months later, where his wife experienced the same problems. Fineran had both his son’s trailer and his trailer tested for formaldehyde. He said Tests showed levels of 0.38 and 0.21 parts per million, respectively.
Fineran’s son had his trailer replaced and Fineran received a special “product sensitive” trailer. Tests on these were 0.18 and 0.21 parts per million, respectively, Fineran said.
Fineran’s wife is now living in Louisiana while Fineran lives in a FEMA trailer in Bay St. Louis.
Tests were done in trailers in November 2005 at a staging lot in Kiln, Fineran said. The tests, conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, showed not only above-normal levels in the trailers, but the background level around the staging area was also elevated, Fineran said.
“They knew people were suffering,” Fineran said.

FEMA Toxic Trailers Included in Homeland Security Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators McCaskill (D-MO), Obama (D-IL), Pryor (D-AK), Landrieu (D-LA), Lieberman (D-CT), Kerry (D-MA), and Johnson (D-SD) yesterday secured Senate passage of a measure in the 2008 Homeland Security spending bill that would require comprehensive testing of Hurricane Katrina trailers that may contain toxic levels of formaldehyde, and a full investigation on why federal authorities refused to test occupied trailers for the gas after multiple complaints and incidents were reported from hurricane victims.

The amendment that was included in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill that the Senate approved last night, was in response to revelations that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) decided against testing occupied trailers for high levels of formaldehyde in FEMA-provided trailers, despite complaints since March 2006 from hurricane victims living in them. According to FEMA, many trailer residents complained of frequent coughing, bloody noses, respiratory disorders and, in at least one case, reported a possible death from potential overexposure to the invisible gas, and reports indicate that FEMA continued to deny there was a problem for over a year.

A recent House oversight hearing revealed that the agency’s Office of General Counsel recommended that FEMA not test for formaldehyde, and ordered that all decisions about testing trailers and getting information out to disaster victims about possible formaldehyde problems be run through their office first, giving the appearance that FEMA was putting potential legal liability ahead of public safety concerns. While FEMA officials have acknowledged they made mistakes and will take “swift action,” the fact that the first reports to FEMA of toxic fumes occurred in March 2006 and they’re only acting now indicate that Congress should make sure this situation is immediately and adequately addressed.

Congress names names in FEMA trailer probe

From left, Gulf Stream Coach Chairman Jim Shea, Pilgrim International President Steve Bennet, Keystone RV President Ronald Fenech and Forest River President and CEO Peter Liegl faced tough questions from congressional Democrats Wednesday about the high levels of formaldehyde found in travel trailers provided to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by FEMA.

Congressional Democrats for the first time named names Wednesday in their investigation of formaldehyde-contaminated travel trailers provided by FEMA to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, charging that manufacturers knew but did not disclose that the units were emitting high levels of the toxic gas that could sicken inhabitants.

At a contentious hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Henry Waxman of California and other Democrats grilled officials of four companies — Gulf Stream Coach Inc.; Pilgrim International Inc.; Keystone RV Inc.; and Forest River Inc. —

whose trailers were found to have the highest levels of formaldehyde in testing by the federal Centers for Disease Control.

Waxman, the committee chairman, said all four companies should have known that their products contained potentially dangerous levels of formaldehyde, the airborne form of a chemical used in a wide variety of products, including composite wood and plywood panels.

But he saved his sharpest criticism for Gulf Stream, of Nappanee, Ind., which provided the Federal Emergency Management Agency with 50,000 travel trailers under two contracts worth a total of $500 million.

He said that documents reviewed by committee staff indicated the company found high levels of formaldehyde in its trailers in testing conducted in early 2006, but viewed the results as a public relations liability instead of a health hazard and failed to inform FEMA.

Sierra Club Applauds Congressional Oversight on Toxic FEMA Trailers

Statement of Becky Gillette, formaldehyde campaign director for the Sierra Club, in response to today’s U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on toxic Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailers:

“We are very thankful that the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating why formaldehyde levels were particularly high in FEMA housing purchased from the four manufacturers who have been called to testify. We hope that this hearing will determine what role imported wood products played in creating this problem by allowing poor quality materials to threaten people’s health.

“Sierra Club began testing FEMA trailers in March 2006 and immediately found widespread formaldehyde contamination. But those findings were largely ignored by FEMA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) until the House Oversight Committee held its first hearing in 2007. Two weeks ago, in response to petition from Sierra Club, 24 other organizations and more than 5,000 individuals from all 50 states, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed to conduct a four-part investigation of formaldehyde in homes, schools and offices.

“The Sierra Club has received complaints about indoor formaldehyde air contamination from across the country, and not just from people in emergency housing. Recent Sierra Club testing has shown high formaldehyde levels in 2008 recreational vehicles (RVs) as well as RVs dating back to 2002. Testing has also found high formaldehyde levels in some manufactured apartment housing and in temporary classrooms.

“Congress has shown leadership in investigating the formaldehyde tragedy that has left many natural disaster victims facing illnesses at a time when they are still struggling to recover financially from losing everything. We now call on Congress to require the EPA to adopt national standards that protect all people—not just those in emergency housing—from toxic levels of formaldehyde.

“Clearly, it is far past time for a formaldehyde fix in this country. We’ve known for decades how toxic formaldehyde can be, and now it is time to resolve this problem once and for all. Japan, Europe and China all have stronger formaldehyde regulations than the U.S. American families deserve the same protections.”

Background:
As the first organization to discover the toxicity of FEMA trailers, the Sierra Club has taken a lead role in fighting for better disaster assistance and emergency housing. Testing by the Sierra Club in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama showed that 88 percent of trailers tested in 2006 and 2007 had formaldehyde levels above the EPA’s recommended limit. Many FEMA trailer residents reported not being able to stay in their trailers for more than five minutes without experiencing irritated eyes, breathing problems, headaches, nausea or skin rashes. Visit www.sierraclub.org/gulfcoast for more information.

http://action.sierraclub.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=62401.0

FEMA trailer plaintiff dies of cancer

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A woman who claimed in a lawsuit that FEMA trailers exposed their residents to formaldehyde has died of lung cancer.

Desiree Collins, 47, died July 2, her lawyer said. She had asked the federal court in Baton Rouge to approve her suit as a class action against companies that sold trailers to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Her lung cancer was diagnosed a week before she died, attorney Justin Woods of New Orleans said Thursday. Lung cancer typically is diagnosed after years of growth, a major reason it is so deadly.

Woods said he hasn’t determined whether formaldehyde is to blame for the cancer, and forensics specialists will test tissue samples taken while Collins was alive.

Formaldehyde is used in a number of materials inside the trailers. It can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and skin, according the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-13-664193430_x.htm

One Family’s Toxic FEMA Trailer Nightmare

Jun 10, 2008 | Parker Waichman Alonso LLP

Although several agencies list formaldehyde as a likely carcinogen, there is no one standard for an acceptable level of exposure to this dangerous chemical.  The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OHSA); the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through its Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) have three different standards with the CDC’s set the far below the others.

Immediately following the Hurricane Katrina devastation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ordered about $2.7 billion worth of trailers and mobile homes to house Katrina victims.  FEMA’s requirements were detailed in a mere 25 lines, with minimal details regarding occupant safety.  Today, industry and government experts say this is linked to a public health catastrophe involving 300,000 people, many children, who lived in Toxic FEMA Trailers and were—in many cases—exposed to high formaldehyde levels exceeding the CDC’s recommended 15-minute exposure limit for workers.  Fifteen minutes is the limit at which acute health symptoms begin to appear in sensitive individuals.

In its March 2008 FEMA Trailer and Mobile Home Assessment, the CDC wrote that “there is no specific level of formaldehyde that separates “safe” from “dangerous.”  While the CDC found that although levels of formaldehyde varied from unit to unit of a particular brand, nearly all brands of Toxic FEMA Trailers tested had units with high formaldehyde levels.  Though it did not declare high levels of formaldehyde unsafe, the CDC “supported the need to move quickly,” and get people out of FEMA housing before summer, as heat can increase formaldehyde fumes.

Formaldehyde is an industrial chemical that can cause nasal cancer, may be linked to leukemia, and worsens asthma and respiratory problems.  Within months of moving into the trailers, residents began complaining about unusual sickness; breathing problems; burning eyes, noses and throats, and even death.  Formaldehyde is emitted from the resins and glues used in many construction components, including particleboard flooring, plywood wall panels, composite wood cabinets, and laminated countertops. Emissions are greatest in warm weather and when trailers are newly constructed.

Lindsay and Steve Huckabee and their four children—now aged two to 13—suffer from multiple, weekly nosebleeds, burning eyes, coughing, congestions, “colds” that don’t resolve, weekly doctor visits, and regular emergency room visits for years now.  Lelah, six, and Michael, two, underwent surgeries over chronic breathing problems.  The Huckabees’ apartment was flooded to the ceiling by Katrina.  The family received a travel trailer in October 2005, then a mobile home in December 2005.

Today, the Huckabees are icons for a Sierra Club movement that believes the Toxic FEMA Trailers have caused widespread poisoning of Katrina victims. The Club tested 69 trailers; most—including he Huckabees’—tested.  The Club is campaigning for stringent standards on formaldehyde levels in building products, such as glues, resins, particleboard, and insulation.  Lindsay has testified before Congress twice—for the House Oversight Committee and the Committee for Science and Technology—about her family’s health issues while living in the Toxic FEMA Trailers.

Eight mobile home parks remain open and are scheduled for closure by year-end.  The majority of the 6,400 families still in Toxic FEMA Trailers are on private land.