The Truth Of Formaldehyde And FEMA Trailers

Federal investigators this week are checking FEMA trailers around the Gulf Coast, after complaints the trailers have unsafe levels of formaldehyde. They're the same kind of trailers that were shipped

Friday, August 3rd 2007, 4:51 pm

By: News On 6

Federal investigators this week are checking FEMA trailers around the Gulf Coast, after complaints the trailers have unsafe levels of formaldehyde. They're the same kind of trailers that were shipped to Miami for flood victims there, but it was decided they won't be used. So what exactly is the story with formaldehyde in trailers? And what about trailers you buy at local dealers? The News On 6 asked why the FEMA trailers might have formaldehyde. The News On 6â€™s Steve Berg reports the answer might surprise you.

Joe O'Brien has been in the RV business for 42 years. He says the reason why the FEMA trailers have formaldehyde is that they all do, from every manufacturer, from any dealer.

"We had a couple here this morning. They wanted to look at a trailer that didn't have formaldehyde in it. There's no such thing," said Joe Oâ€™Brien with Daveâ€™s Claremore RV.

Formaldehyde is used to make the glues in particle board and carpeting, and are very common not just in travel trailers, but in mobile homes and regular homes.

So what could have gone wrong with the FEMA trailers? O'Brien says the trailers that were shipped directly from a manufacturer, instead of purchased from a dealer, might not have been properly ventilated.

"Probably built them, locked them down tight, shipped them to Louisiana, probably sat down there at a storage yard somewhere waiting for somebody to take possession, and when they did, they moved in, didn't vent it, and all of a sudden, they've got an issue," O'Brien said.

O'Brien says in general, venting a trailer for a week or two will reduce, or outgas, the formaldehyde to acceptable levels.

"All of our units when they come in, we vent them when they come in here. And we take a precaution to put a vent on the roof,â€ said O'Brien. â€œBy the time the buyer takes possession, we've never had a problem, never had a complaint."

O'Brien also says trailers all come with paperwork that advises the owner that it contains formaldehyde, and that it needs to be ventilated. His best guess is that this fact somehow got overlooked

"I suspect that when they got the unit down there, there were no instructions. Just packed up tight. Just gave them to these people, and everybody's in a rush, and nobody even thought about it," O'Brien said.

O'Brien says the pricier RV's will have more real wood and thus, less formaldehyde. But he says even they have some formaldehyde.

Watch the video: The Truth Behind Formaldehyde In FEMA Trailers

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