Oklahoma Family Says FEMA Trailer Unlivable

Friday, August 17th 2007, 5:03 pm

By: News On 6

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- Fresh out of welding school, all Don Sellman wanted was a place he and his family could call home until he found work. And for $175 a month, he thought he found it in one of thousands of Federal Emergency Management Agency-issued trailers left over after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005.

But he says his hand up has turned into a nightmare: He can't stay in the cramped trailer for more than 25 minutes because be gets sick to his stomach. His eyes water and turn bloodshot, even after ventilating the trailer for two weeks, leaving all the windows open and running the air conditioning for two days.

His wife won't let their infant daughters sleep in the trailer's bunk beds for fear they may get sick, or worse.

"We done put all our money into this, and me and my kids and my wife have nowhere to go," Sellman said, standing outside the trailer. The trailer park manager has given them temporary accommodations in an empty spare trailer.

The couple's health symptoms mirror those of hundreds of hurricane Katrina and Rita survivors who stayed in travel trailers FEMA distributed after the disasters.

A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of 500 Louisiana residents claims hurricane survivors were exposed to dangerous levels of formaldehyde in some of the 120,000 FEMA issued trailers. Formaldehyde is a carcinogen found in building materials such as plywood and carpeting that can lead to severe respiratory problems, among other ailments, in high concentrations.

FEMA purchased half the trailers off RV dealer lots across the U.S. from at least 14 manufacturers. Hundreds of leftover trailers are in use in Oklahoma.

Sellman's trailer is being tested for formaldehyde.

Independent studies and experts have claimed that some trailer manufacturers cut corners by purchasing building materials from countries with weak formaldehyde regulations, such as Malaysia, and environmental groups have called on the federal government to investigate for at least a year.

This month, the federal agency announced it would no longer sell or ship travel trailers for hurricane evacuees while it probed the health-related concerns. FEMA also said it would move thousands of hurricane victims out of the trailers.

"The formaldehyde issue is not a FEMA issue, it's an industry issue," said FEMA spokesman Aaron Walker. When it comes to health regulations, "travel trailers fall into a legislative and regulatory black hole," he said.

In Oklahoma, various agencies have received 300 surplus FEMA trailers for temporary housing, offices or storage, according to the state's Department of Central Services Property Distribution Division, the coordinating agency for state and local groups to acquire excess federal property.

Across the country, nearly 19,500 travel trailers have been sold at government auctions, donated or disbursed through states' surplus property programs, according to FEMA figures through late July.

Sellman, 35, got his trailer from Tahlequah-based Cookson Hills Community Action Foundation Inc., through its Bridges Out of Poverty program. It was among 84 travel trailers and mobile homes the nonprofit acquired through the state.

Cleon Harrell, the group's executive director, said that of 29 units the group has distributed, Sellman's trailer is the only one that has drawn a complaint.

"I think there's been so much publicity about formaldehyde that the first time it burns your eyes, they're going to blame somebody," he said.

Harrell said trailers his agency buys undergo a four-step cleaning and inspection process to remove formaldehyde and other odors and added that he spent the night inside one of the units.

Sellman said he was made to sign a waiver stating that Harrell's agency would not be held liable for any health issues arising from formaldehyde inside his trailer.

Sellman pays $175 a month for the trailer under a housing program offered by Harrell's agency. He is to own the trailer in four years under the program.

Darecca Jensen, the property manager of the mobile home park, is putting Sellman and his family up in a spare trailer while she awaits results of a formaldehyde test she ordered. Results could take at least a week, she said.

Becky Gillette, with the Sierra Club, a national environmental group, said there are thousands of excess FEMA travel trailers that have been spread throughout the country. Many end up in rural, impoverished areas, where housing options are minimal, she said.

Related Stories:

7/18/2007 FEMA Trailers Arrive In Flood Ravaged Miami

7/20/2007 On Heels Of Formaldehyde Complaints, FEMA Announces Plans To Test Trailer Air Quality

7/22/2007 - Officials Delay Lending FEMA Trailers To Displaced Miami Residents

7/23/2007 Formaldehyde Concerns Delay Distribution Of FEMA Trailers

8/2/2007 FEMA Says No To Trailers For Miami

8/3/2007 The Truth Of Formaldehyde And FEMA Trailers

8/10/2007 FEMA Launches Plan To Get Hurricane Victims Out Of Travel Trailers