FEMA Mobile Homes - Is Formaldehyde Making Hurricane Katrina Victims Sick?

After almost two years of people living in campers and mobile homes provided by FEMA, the evidence is surfacing that formaldehyde may be making us sick. The coast is littered with thousands of these mobile facilities that were hurriedly manufactured. While everyone applauds the effort that was made to house so many so quickly, the fact still remains that these mobile homes may be the root of problems a lot of people are experiencing.

In the summer of 2006 it was mentioned that possible formaldehyde could be causing some problems. The answer to this was to air out your home. While this may have been the best answer that could have been provided at the time, sitting in a metal home in the middle of a treeless lot was not the time to turn off the air and open your windows. The temperatures were in the 90's and the humidity was up. So your choice was to breathe the fumes or suffer a heat stroke. Many people were already sick, suffering from unexplainable rashes, breathing problems, and generally feeling lousy when this latest problem surfaced.

For example, one person interviewed that had triple by-pass surgery a week prior to the hurricane, and returned home one day before the storm hit was already not in the best health due to problems from swimming out of his home during the hurricane. After being placed in a FEMA camper this person had asthma attacks, breathing problems, unexplained coughing, and a constant build-up of fluid in his lungs. Being homeless from the storm this person had little choice but to live in this camper.

The choice for many was to live with their health problems and have them treated as best they could. They could not afford to move. There was no choice but to suffer. In the last few months FEMA has handed out flyers informing people that this problem may exist. The flyers give a number you can call if you believe this is the case in your trailer. It states that if problems exist of this nature, they may move you or provide you with another trailer. Most people contacted are not planning on saying anything. They are afraid they will end up in a worse spot than they are now.

Many fear that at this point in time it is too late to do anything. They fear the harm has already been done. They are disappointed in the treatment they have received and the lack of concern afforded them by organizations that they had contributed to in the past. The people of the coast are a strong, self-reliant, proud bunch. But in the last two years they have suffered more than the loss of life and home and family. You can see it in the faces of the young and old. The eyes do not lie. They are tired and they are sick. The toll has been been more than they can pay and the end is not in sight.