Did anyone catch Replay of FEMA (Formaldehyde) Trailor Hearings on C-Span this a.m.?

[KoKo]

It's incredible what these folks went through with kids with asthma and breathing problems and their parents with burning eyes and breathing problems...after going through a disaster and to have to live through another one.

They are told to "leave windows open" ...takes 2 and a half years for the particle board and carpet glue to GAS OUT! Maybe that's why FEMA parked those other THOUSANDS of trailers that they didn't use in empty land ....so they could GAS OUT ...before they auctioned them on E-Bay. :-(

[blues90]

1. I did .

It's an abomination what they have done . No one knew , no ones an expert and no one wants to take reposibility .

They have known the risks of Formaldehyde for decades and yet they still build crap out of this toxic stuff . It's cheap and that's why they use it , partical board has to be the worst possible material to use when building trailers or mobile homes or anything else . Not only is it toxic but swells into muck when wet , it's heavy and brittle .

It should have been banned years ago and yet they use it to build almost everything wood was used for .

No one cares , just glue it make a huge profit and run off to the bank . They have water based glues now days .

[pitohui]

4. yes they have indeed known of this for decades

that's the thing, formaldehyde in cheap plywood and in carpet and most especially in trailers has been known for a very long time

[blues90]

10. In 1974 I built a cage for a snake I had .

I didn't have alot of money so I got partical board . It had a sceen top and a few doors . Once I put the heat lamp on the top and then stuck my head in one of the doors to put stick on tile for the floor my eye's burned instantly . I never used this cage but I did check out what this partical board was made of and since then I have never used this crap again .

[pitohui]

2. all small trailers are like this

not sure what to suggest here

when i was active in my career as a writer i wrote on this issue in the 1980s so it has been around for awhile

not sure what is to be done, there was a heat index of 108 degrees, all hotels were full for several states around in the immediate aftermath

the superdome, astrodome, and shelter life in general is not healthy either

what do you suggest, i'm not being sarcastic, i honestly don't know

in my case i evac'd to relatives to the north and once i was able to return, put up another evacuee in my home to keep the chain going w.out need of trailers BUT
there are going to be people who don't have relatives to the north or friends who quickly recover to give them a place to stay, what then? we would be just as upset if they were told to live in tent cities until such time as their homes could be rebuilt

louisiana is the LEAST mobile state of the union, and many people, their family and neighborhood was their whole lives, so the trailers were the only alternative because you have families where every family member lost their home and of course this was because their entire neighborhood was destroyed, co-variance as one of my friends said w. an ironic sigh when counting up the number of houses lost just by his family, the downside of close knit families/neighborhoods is that you have all your eggs in one basket i guess

sometimes there are no good answers -- if everyone you know has lost their home, where are you going to put the air mattress on the floor until you rebuild? at some point you have got to have something supplied quickly or you have no shelter at all

i do feel that ALL residents of trailers should be informed of the risks of formaldehyde outgassing, it is not joke and it is not pleasant, people DO need to keep their windows open, have good ventilation, etc. it sounds stupid but in my experience it makes a huge difference between being sick and being okay

[KoKo]

7. I understand what you say ...formaldehyde in Carpet and Particle Board known for years!

BUT...why WASN'T IT TAKEN OUT LONG AGO? How many families who buy mobile homes are suffering the same thing..with no medical care and their kids not able to learn in school because they are SO SICK! That the formaldehyde was KNOWN for YEARS to be a problem in not only Mobile Homes, Campers and HOMES is still allowed to EXIST in the furnishings ...means that whether it was an EMERGENCY or WHATEVER...the Building Products CODE is sadly lacking in enforcement!!!! :grr:

[pitohui]

11. i honestly don't know, since the problem has been known for so long

i am thinking it is a price issue, plus instead of plywood what would you use? there is not enough good lumber left, even the solomon islands are 90 percent logged

[napi21]

3. I only saw part of it, but it was awful! That guy who had 3 trailers delivered

amd was told the last one was NEW, but he found bugs in the bed! The BS they told him was ridculous!

[TexanDem]

5. solution -- give them to the Indians....

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2007/06/22/796876-reservations-to-receive-fema-trailers
Reservations to Receive FEMA Trailers


Where does the callousness stop!! When does accountability begin?

[KoKo]

9. At least they Native Americans are getting the "gassed out" product and NOT

what the New Orleans survivors where given...hot off the press. These chemicals should have been OUT of our PRODUCTS for Homebuilding YEARS AGO! The FDA took formaldehyde out of NAIL POLISH in the early 1990's FGS!!!!!!

[Rene]

6. Simple question....who should go to jail over this.....does anyone think there

will be a punishment for the responsible partie(s)......?

[biscotti]

8. I watched it late last night

I was so outraged it was 3am before I could go to sleep. Mark Souder (R) Indiana was a complete ass. He was yelling at the people that were there to testify as to their living conditions in the trailers. He kept defending the manufacturers of the travel trailers (his district) and denying that high levels of formaldehyde recorded in the trailers could make inhabitants ill. Also that they did not take shortcuts or use inferior materials in the construction. One witness who served in the military and currently lives in one of the trailers gave this jerk representative an education. It was great! Shut that creep up.