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Testing Air Quality in FEMA-provided Mobile Homes and Trailers

CDC is testing for air pollutants in FEMA-provided mobile homes and trailers along the Gulf Coast. Test trailers and mobile homes will be selected randomly and results will be available in 2008.

After Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided mobile homes and travel trailers to Gulf Coast residents who had lost their homes. Concerns have surfaced about air quality in the mobile homes and trailers. CDC is working with FEMA to investigate these health concerns.

On or about December 21, CDC will begin testing the air in a total of 500 trailers and mobile homes for formaldehyde. CDC will test trailers in Louisiana and Mississippi. A computer will pick the trailers. Every trailer has the same chance of being picked. CDC cannot take volunteers for these tests.

CDC is also working with FEMA to study children currently living in or born while their families lived in FEMA-provided housing. We want to learn about health problems linked to indoor air quality. We should be able to give you the results from our tests next year (2008).

CDC will not be able to test every trailer or every child living in a FEMA-provided mobile home or trailer. We want to do our studies quickly so that we can answer your questions quickly.