FEMA Investigates Trailer Air Quality

In addition to halting future uses of the trailers, FEMA has also agreed to find alternate housing for any trailer occupant who requests it and, for those who have purchased trailers from FEMA in the past year, to refund those purchases. The agency will also pay to relocate those who can’t find alternative housing in their immediate areas to anywhere in the continental U.S. About 56,000 families currently live in FEMA trailers—mostly in areas affected by the September 2005 hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Health and environmental experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are now testing the air quality in FEMA trailers throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, FEMA reported. The agency noted in an August 1 statement that “formaldehyde is commonly used in building materials and is prevalent in the environment,” and said it made the decision to suspend use of the trailers “out of an abundance of caution.”