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FEMA To Test Trailers By Request

By Associated Press

FEMA sets up toll-free hotline for people who want their trailers tested for formaldehyde FEMA To Test Trailers By Request

Published: Sat, February 23, 2008 - 2:20 pm Last Updated: Sat, February 23, 2008 - 2:42 pm

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Residents of FEMA trailers who want their
units tested for formaldehyde will have that opportunity.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, in a news release
yesterday (Friday), said it would open up the testing program to
those living in federally supplied trailers and mobile homes along
the Gulf Coast, and also those in Arkansas, California, Florida,
Kansas, New Mexico, New York, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma and
Pennsylvania.
Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention said fumes from 519 tested trailers and mobile homes in
Louisiana and Mississippi were, on average, about five times what
people are exposed to in most modern homes.
Formaldehyde is a preservative commonly used in construction
materials; it can lead to breathing problems and is also believed
to cause cancer.
FEMA says testing could begin as early as this coming week and
would begin with residents on the Gulf Coast who have already
requested testing.
FEMA says about 200 trailers and mobile homes would be tested
each week.
Occupants of FEMA-provided manufactured housing may contact the agency’s Formaldehyde Call Center at 1-866-562-2381 to discuss their testing options or request that their units be tested.