FEMA Continues To Address Formaldehyde Concerns
- Asks CDC to conduct assessment of indoor air quality in travel trailers
Release Date: July 18, 2007
Release Number: HQ-07-142
» Administrator Paulison's Testimony on Formaldehyde (PDF 19KB, TXT 5KB)
» FEMA "For the Record" on Formaldehyde
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for its assistance and expertise in conducting a public health assessment of indoor air quality in its temporary housing units. Although tests of air samples from travel trailers in the Gulf Coast have demonstrated that ventilating the units is effective in reducing levels of formaldehyde, the health and safety of residents is FEMA's primary concern and FEMA believes additional research is needed to address recently raised inquiries and concerns.
The study will be conducted by the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) in consultation with CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). NCEH tracks and evaluates environment-related health problems while NIOSH brings its expertise in exposure assessment to the study.
The study will involve testing actual air quality conditions in travel trailers when they are used for prolonged periods of time under real-life conditions. In the study conducted last summer by the Environmental Protection Agency and the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the testing was done in new, unoccupied trailers in order to determine formaldehyde levels associated with the units themselves, excluding any changes related to activities by the occupants.
The investigation will take a two-phased approach, with an initial more rapid study and an in-depth, longer-term study to give us a better understanding of the complete issue. CDC is being asked to provide an estimate for formaldehyde levels designed to avoid long-term health or irritant effects for most persons living in the units, and to identify practical means of reducing indoor air levels of formaldehyde to appropriate levels, once those levels have been established.
The critically important question that FEMA is asking CDC to address focuses on whether or not there is an association between poor indoor air quality in the travel trailers and adverse health effects in children who live in them. This NCEH study will involve thorough indoor environmental assessments collected over time along with interviews and observations of trailer residents, including children, and will focus on broader indoor air quality issues and exposures.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
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