Gulf Coast area children who lived in trailer units at risk for long-term illnesses

May 28 2008

Tens of thousands of Gulf Coast area children who lived in trailer units provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 might have increased risk for long-term health problems, according to physicians and federal health officials, the AP/Denver Post reports.

CDC in February announced that a study of the air quality in the trailer units found toxic levels of formaldehyde, which can cause respiratory and other health problems. FEMA and CDC did not begin efforts to relocate residents of the trailer units until after the release of the study, and federal lawmakers and health officials maintain that the "agencies' delay in recognizing the danger is being compounded by studies that will be virtually useless and the lack of a plan to treat children as they grow," according to the AP/Post.

In 2009, CDC plans to begin a five-year study that will expand on a smaller study released earlier this month. The new study, which will include as many as 5,000 children from Alabama, Mississippi and Texas who lived in the trailer units, will seek to determine whether a link exists between the units and their health problems.

However, some federal lawmakers and health officials maintain that the five-year study is inadequate because some health problems, such as cancer, can take 10 years or longer to develop. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who has introduced a bill that would require FEMA and CDC to provide health screenings for Gulf Coast residents who lived in the trailer units, said, "Monitoring the health of a few thousand children over the course of a few years is a step in the right direction, but we need commitment."

Christopher De Rosa, assistant director for toxicology and risk assessment with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at CDC, said, "It's tragic that when people most need the protection, they are actually going from one disaster to a health disaster that might be considered worse," adding, "Given the longer-term implications of exposure that went on for a significant period of time, people should be followed through time for possible effects" (Moreno Gonzalez, AP/Denver Post, 5/28).

Health Problems Related to Trailer Units Examined

The Washington Post on Sunday examined how ineffective "government contracting, sloppy private construction, a surge of low-quality wood imports from China and inconsistent regulation all contributed" to the health problems of Gulf Coast residents who lived in the trailer units. According to the Post, "Each of the key players has pointed fingers at others" for the health problems, a "chain of blame with a cost that will not be known for years."

FEMA spent about $2.7 billion to purchase trailer units manufactured based on a one-page, 25-line list of standards that did not adequately address the safety of residents. Manufacturers produced the trailer units "with unusual speed," and, within months, "some residents began complaining about unusual sickness; breathing problems; burning eyes, noses and throats; even deaths," the Post reports.

FEMA attributed the health problems of the residents of the trailer units to the manufacturers because, in an effort to meet demand, they used low-quality, low-cost wood products that led to increased emissions of formaldehyde. However, the manufacturers maintain that FEMA did not provide consistent standards for the trailer units and that they relied on their suppliers to provide quality wood products. Meanwhile, the wood product suppliers "blame cheap, high-formaldehyde-emitting plywood imports that flooded the U.S. market during the recent housing boom," according to the Post (Hsu, Washington Post, 5/25).

Health Problems Among Homeless New Orleans Residents Examined

The New York Times on Wednesday examined the health problems and other social issues among residents of New Orleans left homeless since Hurricane Katrina. A survey of New Orleans residents at a city encampment conducted in February by the Unity of Greater New Orleans found that 80% of respondents had at least one physical disability, 58% had some form of addiction, 40% had a mental illness and 19% had all three problems.

The group has asked Congress to include $76 million in a supplemental war appropriations bill to help fund rent subsidies and services for 3,000 homeless New Orleans residents with disabilities (Dewan, New York Times, 5/28).