Pain Remains For FEMA Trailer Children

Doctors Worry Health Effects Of Formaldehyde Exposure Could Haunt Children For Decades

(CBS/AP)  The anguish of Hurricane Katrina should have ended for Gina Bouffanie and her daughter when they left their FEMA trailer. But with each hospital visit and each labored breath her child takes, the young mother fears it has just begun.

"It's just the sickness. I can't get rid of it. It just keeps coming back," said Bouffanie, 27, who was pregnant with her now 15-month-old daughter, Lexi, while living in the trailer. "I'm just like, `Oh God, I wish like this would stop.' If I had known it would get her sick, I wouldn't have stayed in the trailer for so long."

The girl, diagnosed with severe asthma, must inhale medicine from a breathing device.

Doctors cannot conclusively link her asthma to the trailer. But they fear she is among tens of thousands of youngsters who may face lifelong health problems because the temporary housing supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency contained formaldehyde fumes up to five times the safe level.

As first reported last year by CBS News investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian the chemical, used in interior glue, was detected in many of the 143,000 trailers sent to the Gulf Coast in 2006. But a push to get residents out of them, spearheaded by FEMA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, did not begin until this past February.

Members of Congress and CDC insiders say 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.

"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," said Christopher De Rosa, assistant director for toxicology and risk assessment at the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, an arm of the CDC. "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."

Early on, FEMA may have even pressured the CDC to downplay the health risks of formaldehyde. In a string of internal documents obtained exclusively by CBS News, Dr. De Rosa wrote in an email that two of his staff members had been directed by FEMA officials to not "address longer term health effects" of formaldehyde in a February 2007 report.

Formaldehyde is classified as a probable carcinogen, or cancer-causing substance, by the Environmental Protection Agency. There is no way to measure formaldelhyde in the bloodstream. Respiratory problems are an early sign of exposure.

Young children are at particular risk. Thousands who lived in trailers will be in the prime of life in the 10 to 15 years doctors believe it takes cancer to develop.

FEMA and CDC reports so far have drawn criticism.

A CDC study released May 8 examined records of 144 Mississippi children, some of whom lived in trailers and others who did not. But the study was confined to children who had at least one doctor's visit for respiratory illness before Katrina. It was largely inconclusive, finding children who went to doctors before the August 2005 storm were still visiting them two years after.

A bigger, five-year CDC study will include up to 5,000 children in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas, and CDC officials said it should begin next year. But members of Congress point to the decade or longer it could take for cancer to develop and say a five-year look is inadequate.

"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," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.

Thompson has introduced legislation to force FEMA and CDC to provide health exams for trailer residents who believe formaldehyde made them ill. The bill is similar to $108 million legislation for workers who labored at the World Trade Center site.

Arch Carson, professor of occupational medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, said preliminary exams alone for trailer residents could cost more than the trade center bill. But he said class-action lawsuits over the formaldehyde - at least one has been filed - could be even more expensive, costing many billions of dollars.

"It would be best for the government to get its act together now," Carson said.

More than 22,000 FEMA trailers and mobile homes are still being used in Mississippi and Louisiana.

FEMA and the CDC say they will create a registry of those who stayed in trailers for possible future study. But they admit that the task of keeping track of everyone is made difficult by the rush to get families into other housing.

The parents of McKenzie Whitney [at left with her mother Kacey], a 1-year-old girl with wavy auburn hair, are running low on money and options for caring for the sick girl.

Born into a FEMA trailer, McKenzie was out of the dwelling in August 2007 after a 10-month stay. Her mother, Kacey Whitney, 22, a housekeeper, and her father, Kevin Whitney, 30, a maintenance man, juggle the pressures of post-hurricane life with tending to the child.

"Sunday night when I was going to work, as I was walking up to the front door, she just threw up. She had a fever. We went to the hospital and they wound up keeping her overnight," the girl's mother said. "She's always had a cold, always."

Like Lexi, McKenzie is treated with a nebulizer, a boxy breathing machine that turns medication into mist. It is prescribed to patients with moderate to severe symptoms, and requires children to inhale for 20 minutes.

Dr. Shama Shakir, a Bay St. Louis pediatrician who treats Lexi and Kacey at the Coastal Family Health Center, said that before the storm she prescribed nebulizers about twice weekly. Lately, she is doing so up to 12 times a week.

"You give them the most potent steroids, the most potent antibiotics, and still they have the symptoms," Shakir said. "I worry about what will become of these children long-term."

Deven Galloway, 27, lived in a FEMA trailer in Bay St. Louis for seven months with 4-year-old son DeReion. The boy uses a nebulizer for asthma.

"One day he was like, `I'm going to take more so I can go ahead and be finished for a long time,"' said his mother. "I had to tell him it didn't work that way."

[frankbowers]

I think DHS and the children advocate should look at taking this kids from the parents they have proven they are too lazy to work and need to be kicked out of the tailers, SENT PACKING AND OFF THE WELFARE ROLLS. Frank Bowers of Austin,TX

[aobrien77]

hey fenner, I''ve been through 2 disasters to be exact. I was in Hurricane Rita and I survived a tornado. I went back to work the DAY AFTER IT HIT US. I had to provide for my family. My place of work used a generator to keep power. We even used handheld calculators because we had no power. I didn''t go seeking out all that "free money" people were stealing. I didn''t go live in a trailer. I made do with what I had. You have no right talking to people like that. The only reason I said those things was because they were true. There are too d amn many people out there looking for a free ride. Granted, Louisiana isn''t the best place to live, but if they were so interested in making a good living for themselves, or keep from being hit by a HUGE tornado they would''ve left when the governor issued the MANDATORY evacuation. No, they just wanted to sit around and watch the world come tumbling down around them. Many people had no transportation, but they still got out...wanna try and explain that one?

So to answer the question that wasn''t asked? H ell yeah, I''m mad!

[lewiston14]

Al 2008. It would take 100''s of years to see any change. I keep seeing the word tax used all the time. Great make all the jobs go somewhere else or maybe those that emit c02 just stop doing what they do like making electric. You know that stuff that lets you watch tv and read at night or let you enter a post here. If you tax these things they wil simply shut down or past the cost on to you. Same with oil companies. Make it to expensive and they will just lower output. Nothing says they cant. And where does all this new tax money go? Making bombs that makes sense because maybe 5% would be used for anything else. Al making things more expensive and the economy will simple Collapse.

[lewiston14]

You simple can not build under sea level that close to an ocean. If they get hit again those makeshift fixes to the system that keeps the water out will fold up with no chance for repair and the say sea level is rising. NO will never be the same. As far as the trailers there worth nothing now. Put them in a huge trailer park where they have to pay for land use and all the other costs that go along. Electric sewer etc. Im not playing a race card here but rather just saying let them keep the trailers. Make it private between park owner and park user. There is nothing wrong living in a trailers. There better then under a brige.

[al2008-2009]

I*m appalled at the administration*s lack of response to the global warming hurricanes, and cyclones as well. These Katrina-sized storms keep increasing. Yet, we have no comprehensive strategy in place whatsoever, let alone a detailed plan of action to mitigate the effects of these cyclones, and mother earth continues to suffer while the administration refuses to go forward and do what*s right for mother earth.
.
How long must we sit idly by while our mother continues to suffer from the warming taking place at a feverish pace? How long must our mother suffer before we have proper c02 taxes put into place? How long must the destruction of mother earth take place before we finally put responsible regulations into effect? How long must we wait until we beef up our corn ethanol production? At least Obama wants to cut c02 pollution by 80%; he is definitely our best hope.
.
We the people call upon our leaders to implement a comprehensive antiglobal warming strategy at once and work in coordination with state and federal officials; these cyclones and storms continue to worsen and the quicker we stop the warming the sooner we will see these storms cease. We need action now.

[republic1776]

Why did they rebuild?
It''s nuts.
They should have move the famous buildings inland, plowed the rest down, build a "new chocolate city".
(the mayor said chocolate city not me....)
People insist on living in high risk areas and expect to be bailed out.

[Syndicate]

As the Chinese are learning if you depend on the government to help you, you will get screwed. Let this be a lesson to the rest of us. When the #$@% hits the fan you can only depend on yourself.

The only good thing about Katrina is the Discovery channel no longer runs that show talking about how New Orleans would be wiped out by the perfect storm.

[mnman5]

Too many Katrina people are social services superglue. This disaster started long before the storm. Here in Houston we''re wearing some of this too. People who function like 8 year olds. Perhaps 8 year olds that can get pregnant is a better description. New Orleans was a giant adult daycare center funded by the government. The storm just pealed off the lid.

[mnman5]

Too many Katrina people are social services superglue. This disaster started long before the storm. Here in Houston we''re wearing some of this too. People who function like 8 year olds. Perhaps 8 year olds that can get pregnant is a better description. New Orleans was a giant adult daycare center funded by the government. The storm just pealed off the lid.

[mjm121]

Posted by frankbowers at 06:36 PM : May 28, 2008


Before you go criticizing others and making assumptions...you should prowbaly go bak to graMarr skool.

[frankbowers]

I have but one question, why is the lady and her kids still in a trailer does she expect to live there for ever or is she so use to having kids and others supporting her an them she now thinks it is our duty. I think the porch monkeys need to get a life, find a job and move on we are not her care giver she looks healthful plenty of food her waite suggest that all she need to do now is get of her duff find a job and quit depending on me. THESE FOLKS EXPECT TO BE TAKEN CARE FROM CRADDLE TO GRAVE. i think it is time she took a hint and went to work to provide for the little ones she had so much joy in making.
The best of good byes Frank Bowers of Austin, TX

[brianp55]

Most situations have compensitory factors. In this particular case, you have to weigh the pros and cons of being shelterless versus living in a trailer which was not designed for long term habitation. If you are relying upon someone else to provide your shelter....free of charge.....then, you can expect to have to endure certain suboptimal factors. Certainly, a daily dose of formaldehyde is not a good thing, but it''s probably better than living in a cardboard box.

[minnick8-2009]

It''''s quite disturbing for me to sit here and read all of these posts. It''''s made me realize how prejudiced and racist our country continues to be.
For all of you making comments regarding New Orleans, let me remind you that there were many, many other people affected by this storm not living in NOLA. By rewgal

Yes, Katrina did much damage in a lot of other places besides New Orleans. However, many of those other places are NOT below sea level. New Orleans is below sea level, surrounded by water. In Holland, they have built a system of ***** that are called the 8th wonder of the world to keep out the North Sea. If the U.S. Louisiana and New Orleans aren''t going to build ***** and levies to keep out the water from the lake, the river, and the Gulf of Mexico, then people who stay there to try to live are at risk. That is not racially prejudiced. I have moved 26 times in my life and started over with jobs and housing. I grew up in a pioneer house. A FEMA trailer would have been luxurious in comparison. While it is hard to move and start over with work, housing, and on and on, people who don''t want to end back up in a sewer full of contaminated water at some point in the future should be proactive and get the heck out of New Orleans.

[mjm121]

Re-r
ead my post. There is nothing racist in it. If you choose to read racism into it, then that is your belief system, not mine.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by barbaraf4 at 04:46 PM : May 28, 2008


Before you get your panties in a bunch, if you read my post, I said there was no need for racist remarks. Never said you made them

[rewgal]

fenner - it''s nice to know someone else "gets it"

[rewgal]

It''s quite disturbing for me to sit here and read all of these posts. It''s made me realize how prejudiced and racist our country continues to be.
For all of you making comments regarding New Orleans, let me remind you that there were many, many other people affected by this storm not living in NOLA. I know people that were affected greatly that lived up to 200 miles away from the coastline. When a hurricane hits, it spins off tornadoes and can affect even the people inland. People I know that are victims were pretty well off before the storm. They were never using government handouts to live. It''s not as easy as saying that one can find adequate housing and a job in a few months after a catastrophe like this. When all of the land is wiped out, there''s no place to live. If there is no place to live, there are no jobs. It takes time to rebuild. Anyone that''s seen the aftermath gets it and would never make such crude, inhumane comments as I have read here.
I hope now that all of you could wish peace and love to your fellow citizens instead of being narrow minded.

[rewgal]

It''s quite disturbing for me to sit here and read all of these posts. It''s made me realize how prejudiced and racist our country continues to be.
For all of you making comments regarding New Orleans, let me remind you that there were many, many other people affected by this storm not living in NOLA. I know people that were affected greatly that lived up to 200 miles away from the coastline. When a hurricane hits, it spins off tornadoes and can affect even the people inland. People I know that are victims were pretty well off before the storm. They were never using government handouts to live. It''s not as easy as saying that one can find adequate housing and a job in a few months after a catastrophe like this. When all of the land is wiped out, there''s no place to live. If there is no place to live, there are no jobs. It takes time to rebuild. Anyone that''s seen the aftermath gets it and would never make such crude, inhumane comments as I have read here.
I hope now that all of you could wish peace and love to your fellow citizens instead of being narrow minded.

[barbaraf4]

Many people everywhere can''t afford to buy home or rental insuance. There is no need for racist remarks from others though. Posted by mjm121
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Re-read my post. There is nothing racist in it. If you choose to read racism into it, then that is your belief system, not mine.

[olebd]

The mama in the picture looks like she may have health problems from obesity. I guess she was able to afford food but not suitable housing.

[aobrien77]

For many people, the word "work" is a bad word. It takes character and responsibility...two things that are not instilled in children anymore. All people know is to step on others to keep their heads above water. It''s kill or be killed...literally in New Orleans.