The Sierra Club recently tested five “Katrina cottages” being used in Mississippi and found all to contain higher levels of formaldehyde than is recommended for long-term exposure by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Normal levels of indoor formaldehyde run between 10-20 parts per billion but three of the five cottages contained over 100 parts per billion. This level is even higher than the 77 parts per billion average tested in the 516 trailers this year by the CDC.
While the larger floorplan and windows should help dissipate the gas, a Mississippi news station found faulty ventilation designs in some cottages.
Costing around $40,000 each, the Katrina Cottages are considered a more livable and cost effective alternative to the cramped trailers. FEMA has been collecting prefabricated structures (including cottages) since 2006, however no one knows how many have unacceptable levels of formaldehyde.
Despite respiratory health complaints and a pending lawsuit with over 17,000 plaintiffs, FEMA officials may still consider trailers to be a viable option since they are still available, but only if it were a “worst-case scenario” (Doug Wright, Florida’s Emergency Management Division).
It is unacceptable that in the third hurricane season after Katrina, FEMA cannot guarantee a supply of safe and secure alternative housing following a major crisis. The continued use of older trailers and the possible risks posed by cottages puts already marginalized hurricane victims in even greater danger. Experts propose that pre-contracting of engineer-approved designs could reduce many of these problems. Since we spent $2.7 billion on post-Katrina housing structures couldn’t we ask for better return on our tax dollars and a little peace-of-mind for disaster recovery?
The Secretary of Homeland Security has indicated that the federal government is prepared for hurricane season. However, safe and adequate emergency housing is a vital element of being “prepared” for any disaster, and the federal government is responsible for providing emergency housing to the extent that state, local and tribal governments are unable to meet demand. Based on the continuing problems with federally-funded housing for survivors of the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, the Disaster Accountability Project finds the federal government NOT prepared for hurricane season.
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3 users commented in " Cottages May Be No Safer Than Trailers "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI think these conclusions are being oversimplified. I don’t think WLOX who performed the Sierra Club testing can be compared to the CDC test results (different test methods, methodology, etc). Also, it appears that the cottages are built to local codes — so if there are problems in the cottages it may be that all houses and all codes need more formaldehyde provisions. We need better science in this discussion and I think alot of the news reports are rushing to conclusions that aren’t based in scientific fact.
I agree with you, scienceman, that the testing done on the cottages probably is not comparable to the CDC testing done on the trailers. But, such testing typically is done to alert the federal government to the need to test. And, it apparently succeeded.
“Testing could begin in the next couple of weeks to determine formaldehyde levels in Mississippi Cottages, the structures designed to replace FEMA travel trailers in Hurricane Katrina damaged areas, an agency spokeswoman says.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency recently received guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on acceptable formaldehyde levels in the homes and CDC is developing testing standards, said MEMA spokeswoman Lea Crager-Stokes.”
(from the Picayune Item)
http://www.picayuneitem.com/local/local_story_144125447.html
to J Lewis… I agree let’s test, but let’s test everything like new site built housing, I suspect that all formaldehyde levels are high in new housing as we’re building tighter and people probably aren’t ventilating their houses…