Did Trailer Makers Know About Toxic Fumes?
People are reflected on the electronic board of a securities firm displaying Sony's stock price at 999 yen in Tokyo, Monday, June 4, 2012. Sony's stock price fell below 1,000 yen for the first time since 1980 in a symptom of its decline since huge success with the Walkman three decades ago. Sony's shares dipped to 990 yen Monday before recovering slightly on the Tokyo market. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) / Koji Sasahara
Congressional investigators are taking a hard look at the companies that built and supplied toxic FEMA trailers for emergency housing on the Gulf Coast. CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian speaks exclusively with people who worked on the trailer production lines and say the manufacturers knew they had a formaldehyde problem.
Linda Esparza and her son Tommy Yager can be added to the list of thousands of families feeling the effects of formaldehyde in the trailers FEMA sent to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.
"Fatigue was a big, big problem," Esparza said.
"It would be cold, flu like symptoms," Yager said.
But they didn't live in the trailers. They built them, in Indiana, for an RV maker, Gulf Stream Coach. The company got the largest trailer contract right after the hurricanes hit in August 2005: More than $500 million to supply 50,000 trailers as quickly as possible.
"How much pressure were you under to produce those trailers?" Keteyian asked.
"Oh, incredible. Incredible amount of pressure," Yager said.
By early 2006, the Gulf Stream Coach plant was cranking out more than 100 trailers a day - about three times normal production. That's a pace, former employees say, that quickly forced the company to turn to low-quality materials.
"I was the one that laid down those floorboards that are so famous right now for the amount of formaldehyde that was in them," said Yager. "Oh yeah you could smell something wrong with the boards."
A certified EMT, Tommy Yager says he came to the aid of sick co-workers almost daily.
"We had guys that would have such bad flu symptoms they'd drop right on the floor," Yager said. "Oh yeah, just keel over."
Current and former Gulf Stream employees told CBS News the company knew it had a problem with formaldehyde.
"We were instructed to open the doors and windows so that the odor wouldn't be as strong when the FEMA inspectors got there," Esparza said.
Attorney Sean Trundy is suing several manufacturers on behalf of those who lived in the trailers.
"They fulfilled their contract at the expense of the people who built the trailers and, ultimately, at the expense of the people that were put in them," Trundy said.
CBS News wanted to talk to Gulf Stream Coach officials about what happened in this now-shuttered plant in Etna Green, Ind. But the company declined our request for an interview and instead issued a statement.
Questions that will almost certainly be asked Wednesday when the head of Gulf Stream Coach and three other trailer manufacturers testify, under oath, on Capitol Hill.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. Linda Esparza and her son Tommy Yager can be added to the list of thousands of families feeling the effects of formaldehyde in the trailers FEMA sent to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.
"Fatigue was a big, big problem," Esparza said.
"It would be cold, flu like symptoms," Yager said.
But they didn't live in the trailers. They built them, in Indiana, for an RV maker, Gulf Stream Coach. The company got the largest trailer contract right after the hurricanes hit in August 2005: More than $500 million to supply 50,000 trailers as quickly as possible.
"How much pressure were you under to produce those trailers?" Keteyian asked.
"Oh, incredible. Incredible amount of pressure," Yager said.
By early 2006, the Gulf Stream Coach plant was cranking out more than 100 trailers a day - about three times normal production. That's a pace, former employees say, that quickly forced the company to turn to low-quality materials.
"I was the one that laid down those floorboards that are so famous right now for the amount of formaldehyde that was in them," said Yager. "Oh yeah you could smell something wrong with the boards."
A certified EMT, Tommy Yager says he came to the aid of sick co-workers almost daily.
"We had guys that would have such bad flu symptoms they'd drop right on the floor," Yager said. "Oh yeah, just keel over."
Current and former Gulf Stream employees told CBS News the company knew it had a problem with formaldehyde.
"We were instructed to open the doors and windows so that the odor wouldn't be as strong when the FEMA inspectors got there," Esparza said.
Attorney Sean Trundy is suing several manufacturers on behalf of those who lived in the trailers.
"They fulfilled their contract at the expense of the people who built the trailers and, ultimately, at the expense of the people that were put in them," Trundy said.
CBS News wanted to talk to Gulf Stream Coach officials about what happened in this now-shuttered plant in Etna Green, Ind. But the company declined our request for an interview and instead issued a statement.
"In some ways, I feel betrayed and, in other ways I feel ashamed," Esparza said. "I put my name on those products, and maybe if I'd asked more questions."
Read the statement here.
Watch: FEMA Trailer Workers Speak OutQuestions that will almost certainly be asked Wednesday when the head of Gulf Stream Coach and three other trailer manufacturers testify, under oath, on Capitol Hill.
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Posted by alindgr1
What, they could read?
"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.
Was this a haunting vision of the future could he foresee the greed driven development and marketing of products in such a manner as not to give a *** about the effects on the American public. Let us continue to not repair the **** and allow our politicians and corporate America decide how and which leaks to poke their fingers in.
[Posted by mandylou4u at 12:15 PM : Jul 09, 2008]
what country does it work in? does it work in any country? why doesn''t it work?
[Posted by Steve773834 at 12:35 PM : Jul 09, 2008]
based on the story ... they were doing particular things in advance of expected fema visits to the plant ... to shield from the view of fema reps.
if they knew what they were doing ... and what they were doing was not to the spec ... or would clearly represent an unsafe condition for those using the trailers ... then they are liable for their actions ... as they should be.
It is frightening that we can no longer trust this administration to protect us as citizens. And having the trailer executives questioned on Capitol Hill? We all know how well that worked with the oil guys...a dog and pony show at best.
It is frightening that we can no longer trust this administration to protect us as citizens. And having the trailer executives questioned on Capitol Hill? We all know how well that worked with the oil guys...a dog and pony show at best.