commentCDC Finds Elevated Formaldehyde Levels in FEMA Trailers
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found formaldehyde levels ranging from 3 to 590 parts per billion (ppb) in trailers supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to Americans displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Many materials used in FEMA trailers off-gas formaldehyde, reducing indoor air quality and posing a health threat to long-term occupants.
Based on what you have seen and read about this project, how would you grade it? Use the stars below to indicate your assessment, five stars being the highest rating.
CDC found an average formaldehyde concentration of 77 ppb, compared with 10 to 30 ppb in typical indoor environments. These levels are high enough to pose health concerns—especially for elderly people, children, and those with asthma—and CDC encourages residents of the 34,000 trailers still in use along the Gulf Coast to move to safer housing as soon as possible.
The findings, based on tests performed in December 2007 and January 2008 and published in an interim report, likely under-represent long-term exposures, since formaldehyde levels tend to be higher in newer trailers and during warmer months.
More information is online at: www.cdc.gov/Features/FEMAtrailersFindings/.
This article was produced by BuildingGreen, Inc.- www.buildinggreen.com
|
|
Sign in to Comment
To write a comment about this story, please sign in. If this is your first time commenting on this site, you will be required to fill out a brief registration form. Your public username will be the beginning of the email address that you enter into the form (everything before the @ symbol). Other than that, none of the information that you enter will be publically displayed.