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A U.S. House hearing yesterday revealed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) refused to acknowledge dangerous levels of the chemical formaldehyde in some of the 120,000 housing trailers it provided to people who were evacuated from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
The director of FEMA, R. David Paulison, told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that, in hindsight, FEMA could have moved faster when formaldehyde problems were first reported in March 2006, six months after the first trailers were delivered to evacuees.
Formaldehyde in Building Materials
Formaldehyde is sometimes found in building materials. Several government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, classify formaldehyde as a probable human carcinogen. It can also cause respiratory problems, sore throats, and burning eyes, all of which have been reported by evacuees living in FEMA trailers.
The House committee criticized FEMA for its limited response to the trailer residents who reported respiratory problems and formaldehyde fumes, and to a reported death of an evacuee that may have been linked to formaldehyde in his trailer. Subpoenaed records showed FEMA lawyers warning the agency's officials of potential liability problems if safety testing revealed dangerous chemicals.
" The Clock Is Running on Our Duty to Respond"
One e-mail from a FEMA lawyer to field staff advised: "Do not initiate any testing until we give the OK. ... Once you get results ... the clock is running on our duty to respond to them."
Tens of thousands of people are still living in the FEMA trailers in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi. FEMA's lack of response to the reports of illness was blasted by the committee chairman, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who noted, "It's sickening and the exact opposite of what government should be. It is impossible to read the FEMA documents and not be infuriated."
FEMA director Paulison publicly apologized to the evacuees, saying, "We were not formaldehyde experts…we recognize now that we have an issue. We are dealing with it in the best manner we can." The day before the hearing, FEMA announce that it has asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to run tests on the air quality in the FEMA trailers that are still occupied.
(Source: New York Times)
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