Pressed wood released formaldehyde in trailers-CDC

Tag : Organic Compounds

(Adds comments from FEMA paragraphs 4-5, manufacturers 14thparagraph, House hearing 17th paragraph)
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) - Pressed wood products such asparticle board are the main source of irritating formaldehyde fumesin trailers used to house disaster victims, according to a U.S.government report to be released on Wednesday.
Such temporary housing should be designed with better ventilation,the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionsuggests, and current health and safety standards may not be enoughto protect people.
"Even though construction materials meet standards ... you have tobe a little bit careful about how you use those constructionmaterials. You could end up fostering high levels of formaldehyde,"said CDC spokesman Glen Nowak in a telephone interview.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said 15,000 peopledisplaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita along the U.S. Gulf Coastin 2005 are still living in such trailers.
FEMA spokesman James Kaplan said a few dozen mobile homes werebeing sent to people displaced by flooding in Iowa, but they hadbeen tested for low formaldehyde levels.
The CDC contracted with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratoryin California to cut open several trailers and measureconcentrations of formaldehyde and other irritating chemicals knownas volatile organic compounds.
"We refer to it internally as the chain saw study," Nowak said. "Wewent beyond formaldehyde and looked at levels of other volatileorganic compounds. Continued...