New Emergency Housing Cottages in Mississippi Test High for Toxic Formaldehyde

New Emergency Housing Cottages in Mississippi Test High for Toxic Formaldehyde
Sierra Club Tests Suggest that Agencies' "Solution" is Not a Solution
Published on May 24, 2008 - 8:45:52 AM

Gulfport, MS, May 23, 2008 -- The Mississippi Cottages developed as an alternative to the toxic Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailers and mobile homes may have unacceptably high formaldehyde levels themselves, according to test results released today by the Sierra Club in Mississippi.

Responding to concerns about travel trailers being cramped, uncomfortable and making disaster victims sick, FEMA granted $281 million to the State of Mississippi to develop FEMA's Alternative Housing Program to develop safer and more comfortable emergency housing for victims of natural disasters. The contracts granted by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), however, went to some of the same manufacturers that produced the toxic FEMA mobile homes.

"With the start of hurricane season upon us, all we ask is for safe, healthy, emergency housing," said Becky Gillette, formaldehyde campaign director for Sierra Club. "We understand that MEMA has plans to test the Mississippi Cottages, and we urge the agency to require manufacturers to remediate any units with high formaldehyde levels."

Sierra Club, working with WLOX ABC Channel 13 in Gulfport, recently tested five Mississippi Cottages using kits from Advanced Chemical Sensors. Three of the Cottages came in over 0.1 parts per million (ppm), the level at which the EPA and American Lung Association say health effects can occur. The other two Cottages tested above the long-term exposure limits recommended by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

The Mississippi Cottages are larger units that were designed to be cleaner and safer than the infamous FEMA trailers and mobile homes. But today's test results suggest that the new Cottages may not have solved the formaldehyde problem. Families currently live in at least 2,500 Cottages, and many more still live in FEMA trailers or mobile homes, including those that have been purchased by the occupants. Many of these people are sick from high formaldehyde levels.

Dr. Lou Finkle, a retired professor in Biloxi, lives in one of the tested Mississippi Cottages. His Cottage tested lower than the FEMA trailer he used to live in, but that may be due to Finkle's efforts to ventilate his Cottage. Despite the lower levels, Finkle stays out of the Cottage during the day and on weekends. "Although my Cottage still has high levels of formaldehyde, the increased space and ventilation mean I don't smell the poison in the air," he said.

FEMA had announced that it would only purchase emergency housing that tested below 0.016 ppm-much less than what Sierra Club has found in the new Cottages. FEMA made that decision after testing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed high formaldehyde levels in FEMA trailers, recreational vehicles and mobile homes (see http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehhe/trailerstudy/).

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. Visit www.sierraclub.org/gulfcoast for more information.

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Comments

Joe Serpico
11 Jun 2008, 10:48

The source of formaldehyde in both trailers and cottages is likely the cabinetry. Most cabinets are built from plywood and/or particleboard, both of which are normally held together with urea formaldehyde glue. I say "normally" because there are some manufacturers now offering products made with less toxic adhesives, but they are more expensive and not yet widely available. Chances are these newer products were not used in the cottages because of cost concerns, which is a shame because of the formaldehyde exposure these individuals have already experienced. The reason why the levels of formaldhyde were so very high in the trailers is probably because the interiors are basically all cabinetry. Everything is built in to save space. The cottages probably have a level that, while not healthy, is akin to that in most conventional construction these days.

Andrew Oh-Willeke
29 May 2008, 12:43

Formaldehyde does not come from nowhere.

One would suspect that trailers and mobile homes would have similar construction materials, and hence a common source for the pollutant.

Cottages have very different building materials, yet appear to have a similar formaldehyde problem.

Does anyone know what the source of this problem seems to be? Do single family homes in the region have similarly elevated levels? Do similar sructures, for example, in mountain recreation communities have these problems? Do local heat and humidity turn otherwise safe materials toxic?

Information regarding the suspected source of the problem and possible avenues for abatement would contribute greatly to civil discussion of possible solutions.