Hurricane Katrina Trailer Dwellers Want Out

About 1,000 families are fed up with the formaldehyde fumes and have asked to get out of the emergency trailers the Federal Emergency Management Agency provided to Hurricane Katrina victims. Monday, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff promised that FEMA would relocate anyone who wanted to give up a trailer -- "no ifs ands or buts," according to a story in the Times-Picayune.

He also said FEMA would deny the requests of far more people -- 28,000 -- who had wanted to purchase used trailers. The presence of relatively high levels of formaldehyde -- a common, though toxic, ingredient in many home wares -- was an arguably avoidable insult to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The rush to supply trailers prompted officials to deliver them before proper venting, leaving potentially unhealthy levels of the gas in the indoor air.

The episode highlighted the problem of formaldehyde, which anyone remodeling a kitchen, installing cabinets or carpets, or doing other home renovations ought to learn about. Alternatives are on the market that can help reduce or eliminate the "off-gassing" of toxic fumes from carpets, paints, cabinetry, particle board and other products.

Those provided FEMA trailers, of course, weren't given the opportunity to choose.

Hurricane Katrina Photos Submitted to Weird Weather Watch
Ruined Home after Katrina
House and Car after Katrina
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