Thursday, February 14, 2008
CDC TEST RESULTS ON FEMA TRAILERS
RV Business
Thursday, February 14, 2008
EDITOR’S NOTE: RV Business Senior Editor Bob Ashley contributed to this report based on an article by the Times-Picayune.
A New Orleans, La., newspaper is reporting that the director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is advising hurricane victims living in travel trailers to move into “safer housing as soon a possible,” although CDC tests completed Jan. 23 for formaldehyde emissions appear mixed.
The report in the Times-Picayune said that levels of formaldehyde emissions in the 520 trailers tested by the CDC averaged .077 parts per million, but ranged from .03 ppm to .59 ppm. More than 120,000 trailers were provided to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA ordered the tests after some long-term residents of the trailers complained of health problems.
A press conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. today (Feb. 14) to announce the results. The newspaper said it had acquired a summary of the study.
CDC Director Julie Gerberding said that trailer residents should move by summer because heat will increase emissions in the trailers, although she added that CDC does not perceive the trailer-formaldehyde issues to be a “public health emergency.”
The summary said that the completed study found that “in many trailers, mobile homes and park models tested, formaldehyde levels were elevated relative to typical levels of U.S. indoor exposure.”
Ventilation, the age of the trailer and temperature affect the levels of formaldehyde, she said. “When the temperature is warmer, the levels are higher,” Gerberding said.
A summary of the study's conclusions acquired by the Times-Picayune does not elaborate on the precise health risks resulting from temporary or prolonged exposure to formaldehyde, but Gerberding noted that the “really old, the really young and those suffering from asthma” are more susceptible to its effects.
Although there is no federal regulation on formaldehyde emissions in travel trailers, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) and Recreational Park Trailer Industry Association (RPTIA) last fall adopted a .2 ppm limit on plywood used in trailer construction and .3 ppm for particle board, the same standards set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for manufactured homes.
The Times-Picayune said the pungent gas is released by building materials and household items – including paint, draperies and pressed wood products – according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“Acute exposure” may result in irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and mucous membranes, said Mike McGeehin, a division director for the National Center for Environmental Health. “Nasal cancer in humans also has been linked to long-term exposure to formaldehyde.”
There can be a skin rash, he said, but that occurs less often than the respiratory problems, he said.
In New Orleans today, representatives of the CDC and FEMA plan to discuss the preliminary test results from trailers and mobile homes in Louisiana and Mississippi. FEMA administrator David Paulison will disclose actions FEMA plans to take based on the CDC findings.
At the request of FEMA, the CDC tested 520 occupied FEMA units from Dec. 21 through Jan. 23.
The study found:
• Average levels of formaldehyde in all units was about .077 ppm – a level higher than U.S. background levels. And that exposure "over time at this level" can affect health. Levels measured ranged from .03 ppm to .59 ppm.
• The levels – measured in the winter and long after residents moved in – likely underrepresent long-term exposures since formaldehyde levels tend to be higher in newer travel trailers and during warmer weather.
• Indoor temperature was a significant factor for formaldehyde levels in this study independent of trailer make or model.
• Formaldehyde levels varied by model – "mobile homes, park homes and travel trailers" – but all types of trailers tested had some high levels.
• At the levels seen in many trailers, health could be affected.
The bottom line is that this "is not the ideal housing for people long-term," Gerberding said.
The CDC recommends public health officials "support the need to move quickly to relocate travel trailer residents before the weather in the region warms up, placing highest priority on those who are symptomatic and/or especially vulnerable.
The CDC also recommends an appropriate follow-up that will require multiagency collaboration – including the CDC, FEMA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development – "to achieve safe, healthy housing for people displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita who continue to live in travel trailers and mobile homes."
Thursday, February 14, 2008
EDITOR’S NOTE: RV Business Senior Editor Bob Ashley contributed to this report based on an article by the Times-Picayune.
A New Orleans, La., newspaper is reporting that the director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is advising hurricane victims living in travel trailers to move into “safer housing as soon a possible,” although CDC tests completed Jan. 23 for formaldehyde emissions appear mixed.
The report in the Times-Picayune said that levels of formaldehyde emissions in the 520 trailers tested by the CDC averaged .077 parts per million, but ranged from .03 ppm to .59 ppm. More than 120,000 trailers were provided to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA ordered the tests after some long-term residents of the trailers complained of health problems.
A press conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. today (Feb. 14) to announce the results. The newspaper said it had acquired a summary of the study.
CDC Director Julie Gerberding said that trailer residents should move by summer because heat will increase emissions in the trailers, although she added that CDC does not perceive the trailer-formaldehyde issues to be a “public health emergency.”
The summary said that the completed study found that “in many trailers, mobile homes and park models tested, formaldehyde levels were elevated relative to typical levels of U.S. indoor exposure.”
Ventilation, the age of the trailer and temperature affect the levels of formaldehyde, she said. “When the temperature is warmer, the levels are higher,” Gerberding said.
A summary of the study's conclusions acquired by the Times-Picayune does not elaborate on the precise health risks resulting from temporary or prolonged exposure to formaldehyde, but Gerberding noted that the “really old, the really young and those suffering from asthma” are more susceptible to its effects.
Although there is no federal regulation on formaldehyde emissions in travel trailers, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) and Recreational Park Trailer Industry Association (RPTIA) last fall adopted a .2 ppm limit on plywood used in trailer construction and .3 ppm for particle board, the same standards set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for manufactured homes.
The Times-Picayune said the pungent gas is released by building materials and household items – including paint, draperies and pressed wood products – according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“Acute exposure” may result in irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and mucous membranes, said Mike McGeehin, a division director for the National Center for Environmental Health. “Nasal cancer in humans also has been linked to long-term exposure to formaldehyde.”
There can be a skin rash, he said, but that occurs less often than the respiratory problems, he said.
In New Orleans today, representatives of the CDC and FEMA plan to discuss the preliminary test results from trailers and mobile homes in Louisiana and Mississippi. FEMA administrator David Paulison will disclose actions FEMA plans to take based on the CDC findings.
At the request of FEMA, the CDC tested 520 occupied FEMA units from Dec. 21 through Jan. 23.
The study found:
• Average levels of formaldehyde in all units was about .077 ppm – a level higher than U.S. background levels. And that exposure "over time at this level" can affect health. Levels measured ranged from .03 ppm to .59 ppm.
• The levels – measured in the winter and long after residents moved in – likely underrepresent long-term exposures since formaldehyde levels tend to be higher in newer travel trailers and during warmer weather.
• Indoor temperature was a significant factor for formaldehyde levels in this study independent of trailer make or model.
• Formaldehyde levels varied by model – "mobile homes, park homes and travel trailers" – but all types of trailers tested had some high levels.
• At the levels seen in many trailers, health could be affected.
The bottom line is that this "is not the ideal housing for people long-term," Gerberding said.
The CDC recommends public health officials "support the need to move quickly to relocate travel trailer residents before the weather in the region warms up, placing highest priority on those who are symptomatic and/or especially vulnerable.
The CDC also recommends an appropriate follow-up that will require multiagency collaboration – including the CDC, FEMA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development – "to achieve safe, healthy housing for people displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita who continue to live in travel trailers and mobile homes."
