FEMA Releases Results of Test on Trailers

For years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been under fire from critics, worried the trailers the agency provides to disaster victims have higher-than-healthy levels of formaldehyde. Now the test results are in. Did FEMA’s trailers pass the test?

The Associated Press says the results of tests on the homes given to victims of flooding in Cedar Rapids show that some contained formaldehyde levels above the state’s allowable level.

However, AP says both state officials and officials with FEMA said the readings could be attributed to smoking or other living conditions. According to FEMA, the highest total was 210 parts per billion. The average was 65 parts per billion. Iowa set a standard of 40 parts per billion for FEMA homes coming in to the state.

Tom Newton, the director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, told AP the state standard is the allowable level for unoccupied trailers, but once people move in, that level is difficult to sustain. He even told AP that formaldehyde levels of up to 80 parts per billion are not uncommon in regular houses.