Formaldehyde limits to be checked by FEMA

Following many reports of formaldehyde caused infection from the hurricane affected areas of gulf coast; Federal Emergency Management Agency has decided to conduct tests in those areas.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and FEMA have decided to take air samples from gulf coast areas especially Louisiana and Mississippi to check the level of formaldehyde.

People had to be shifted to these trailers as their temporary homes as the area was badly struck by the hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroying thousands of homes in 2005. According to estimates, around 46,700 people are still living in travel trailers or mobile homes along the Gulf Coast, even after two years of the hurricanes hitting the gulf coast.

In an announcement made by FEMA, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will test 500 randomly selected travel trailers and mobile homes for the toxin formaldehyde starting Dec. 21. Reports have come of the problems caused by formaldehyde in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.

Testing was postponed to late December in order to make sure that the test area was selected on a proper science based approach and not a random guess. Also some credible agency which could accurately calculate the formaldehyde levels had to be found and given the job, said Administrator R. David Paulison. He said they received requests from around 6500 families to move them to safer places as a precautionary measure.

According to initial estimates around 800 Gulf Coast families have moved from the trailers to alternative housing places, said David Paulison. FEMA has already moving the families from trailers to hotel and motel rooms or apartments.

Elevated levels of formaldehyde gas can cause headaches, burning in the eyes and throat, nausea and difficulty breathing. Formaldehyde is a used as a preservative and also as an embalming fluid found in building materials for manufactured homes.

The task is hectic as government lacks general guidelines on the issue and doesn't have any "single, safe, line-in-the-sand level of formaldehyde level and the way in which the people get infected is also very random. During each test, an "air sucking" machine will take samples for about an hour.

Some people will react at higher levels. Some people might react to formaldehyde at lower levels.

In Louisiana, the government is helping in the process of moving the people from trailers to the permanent homes. Results are due in February after which analysis of data will be done

Clearly, the travel trailers ought not to be a long-term housing solution,' said Jim Stark, head of the FEMA office in New Orleans.

More tests will have to be conducted in summer in order to be sure of the results. In summer the heightened humidity level has an effect on the formaldehyde distribution in the air. The finalized results will be given once both the tests have been conducted.