So, who is responsible for putting the formaldhyde in the trailers

[ashling]

in the first place. And has that person/corporation been sued yet?

[Fredda Weinberg]

1. It's a by product of the foam insulation. Normally, it's vented

but this is tragedy of errors.

[Donnachaidh]

3. it's also used in the compressed wood used in the kitchen area

and woodwork.

And for asthmatics -- no amount of *venting* is going to make those plastic coffins livable.

[madokie]

2. just think most of those trailers were originally built for sale to the public

I read somewhere once that said a study had shown that people who live in a trailer house for any length of time had a higher incidence of upper respiratory cancers. Nothing ever came of it though then as is now.

[Adsos Letter]

5. carpenters are encouraged to wear particle masks when cutting wood...

ESPECIALLY formaldehyde treated or glued particle boards...

[karlrschneider]

7. Any idea where you read that?

The formaldehyde used in wood glue is pretty volatile...a few weeks of open-air ventilation will eliminate 99.99% of it.

[madokie]

13. No I don't and I wish I did but we used to live in a trailer for a while and on a hot day

when the air con was off for whatever reason and we would come home from being gone all day the air would be heavy with what I suspect was outgassed formaldehyde from the glue and it was a rather older trailer at that, prolly 10, 12 years old. But anyways it can't be good for anyone and especially the old or very young to be breathing that. My understanding of it is that as long as there is still the glue there it will outgas, maybe not as much as when it is new but continue to outgas nevertheless

[karlrschneider]

14. Maybe it isn't consistent. I actually have 3 trailers but they're kinda old and don't have

any of that gas left that's detectable. My friend at T.U. (chemistry dep't) has backed me up on my claim that virtually all of it can be removed by aggressive ventilation.

[truedelphi]

15. Another nasty thing is the cheap particle board used in houses built

By Habitat for humanity.

People who accept the homes and live in them for any length of time end up with some rather nasty and rare types of cancer.

One hundred years ago, you lived ina wooden home, it was wood, not wood shaved up and held together by expensive polymers and glues and adhesives.

[karlrschneider]

4. Mobile home manufacturers. They are trying to kill off as many customers as possible.

I haven't quite figured out why yet, though...

[Donnachaidh]

16. it's not just the mobile home manufacturers.

It's the particle board. And that gets used in LOTS of new homes. DH works for a supplier that carries these types of woods, and they sell tons of this crap. Any sort of compressed wood or particle board will have formaldehyde used in the processing.

[Thothmes]

20. Particle board,

chip board, strand board are all used extensivly in home construction to keep the cost down. Real ply wood is a pricy item these days.

[madokie]

25. for the most part in a regular stick framed house the formaldehyde is pretty much

sealed off from the regular living space where as with a lot of trailers the inside wall will be make from it, the floor is made particle boards too and I don't think the carpet and pad will keep the gases out and especially after its been walked on some. The product should not be used in house building with the formula they have now for the binder holding it together. I know a glue could be developed that would be as good and a lot less toxic if the companies were maybe coerced into developing and using it. That is a job for government, to protect its citizens from the power of the love of money by those who we must depend on.

[ashling]

19. planned obsolesence

but somebody needs to tell them that the idea is no to make the customer obsolete
:rofl:

[SoCalDem]

6. People who build cheap-ass stuff that's never meant to be lived in full-time

Formaldehyde is all over the place.. in lots of things..

fabrics..carpet..plywood..wallboard

People used to use wool carpeting, plaster walls, cotton/wool/linen fabrics..

not so Better Living Through Chemistry™ :eyes:

[karlrschneider]

8. And that's American products. Imagine if they were made in China...

:eyes:

[SoCalDem]

9. They get around it by "dislaimers".. Then if someone tries to sue

they can say.."shoulda read the fine print.. we TOLD you it "might" be dangerous".. of course they also know that the poor folks who are the ones who buy these things, don't have money to sue, and have few other options they can afford.

[sam sarrha]

10. i bet there were a lot of condemned trailers some crony got for a dollar and sold them to another

ReThug crony in FEMA, making hundreds of millions off of trailers headed to the landfill..??

[napi21]

11. You can smell it in all the new mobile trailers I've I've ever been in.

As far as I know, it dissapated after a while. We had a camper trailer quite a few years ago, but we bought it used, and it didn't have that odor. AFAIK it's a result of the insulation, and it's quite strong in those new confined spaces. I'm surprised that it's not gone by now, after people lived in them for 2+ years! It could be the humidity in La.

[Lugnut]

18. We've had two new camper trailers over the years.

When you're camping you open the windows and doors because it's warm outside. You also don't normally live in them. I imagine that even living in them in the northern area of the country is far different from living in them in the deep south.

[Captain Angry]

12. Ever been in a brand new car or house?

That new car smell? That new house smell?

Same thing.

All the chemicals, flame retardants, stain guards, glues, plastics, fumes...

The real story is that in the United States of America, there are still people living in temporary housing this long after the hurricane and flood. It's so depressing.

[Lint Head]

17. Formaldhyde is in some imported beers.

:dem:

[Beausoleil]

21. Long ago, I heard that it was in the beer sent to Viet Nam

for the US soldiers and Marines. There was inadequate refrigeration for all that beer so they "preserved" it. A Marine Viet Nam vet friend told me this back in the 70's.

[Thothmes]

22. Remember hearing that also in the late 60s

[ashling]

23. I was wondering if anybody had pinned down

the source of the off-gassing of formaldehyde in these trailers to a partiular product. At this point we should be calling for the EPA to dismantle one of these trailers and test all of the possible sources - insulation, wood, laminates, carpeting (if there is any), etc. -

I'm wondering if any of the materials used in this instance was unapproved for the particular application. Did someone mis-read a chemical product data sheet - or ignore it - or ignore specific warnings. Was there general negligence, specific negligence, criminal negligence or malfeasance?

Just wondering.
:shrug:

[MzNov]

24. there is a high level of formaldhyde in carpets, mattresses

furniture, the list goes on. And there is practically no legislation on the amount. I had to send back a new mattress/box spring set because it nearly choked me to death. It's a matter on which all Americans need to focus. My heart bleeds still for the Katrina victims who can't even see some of the things that are still killing them.

I have written many letters to Sen. Boxer, who is Chairman of the Senate committee overlooking this type of environmental issue. I hope we can get things rolling when we get these clueless heartless bastards out of our government agencies.

:grr: