Did Trailer Makers Know About Toxic Fumes?

Exclusive: Workers Who Made FEMA Trailers Say Manufacturer Knew About Harmful Formaldehyde

(CBS)  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.

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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.

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Read the statement here.
Watch: FEMA Trailer Workers Speak Out

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“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.”

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.

[minnick8-2009]

It seems to me that a bunch of people did not read (or heed) the warning stickers.

Posted by alindgr1

What, they could read?

[alindgr1]

This should come as no surprise to either the makers or the residents. I bought a trailer several years ago, and I remember the warning stickers in the house about formaldehyde and fumes, and the side effects, and what to do about them. It seems to me that a bunch of people did not read (or heed) the warning stickers.

[sleepy50]

Albert Einstein -
"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.

[slydog1960]

we pay taxes to the government to protect and to serve "we the people" The same reason we pay social security. It is like paying any other insurance company. When the people have a claim they should do their job and pay. They should be held responsible for their actions. If you pay someone to do something and they do not you expect them to be held responsible period. The government does not do what we pay them to do in many aspects, "we the people" have not been the masters as we should be for many years now. The government is like any other big corporation these days, pull in as much money as you can spend as little as you can in pay back and service and blow the rest on personal interest.

[bobnjersey]

[Blaming people won''''t work in this country.]
[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?

[bobnjersey]

[The RV industry is NOT to blame for these FEMA units having problems, the units were built to code as established by FEMA. FEMA is the problem.]
[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.

[morganbarber]

Whats the big deal?? The psychopaths running the company found a way to cut costs and increase their own bonus costs. It worked out great for them. So what if a bunch of people are sick because of the decisions that were made. Profit. Thats what matters.

[james007us]

I worked in a mobile home factory in Jacksonville, North Carolina in 1974 to 1975 and the formaldehyde that was built into each unit was not even considered to be a problem or a risk factor. Then just before Katrina hit my wife and I went looking for a new mobile home only because of the formaldehyde in the units we were forced not to buy one. One dealership promised us that their units didn''t have any formaldehyde and when we entered the first unit we could smell it. That was when we were told that there was no way to build a mobile home with out formaldehyde being in the isolation.

[daywood1]

It is amazing that this discussion even extends beyond FEMA and Gulf Stream. FEMA contracted Gulf Stream to provide EMERGENCY shelter to citizens of this country (that is their job), and both parties failed to do so in a safe manner.

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.

[daywood1]

It is amazing that this discussion even extends beyond FEMA and Gulf Stream. FEMA contracted Gulf Stream to provide EMERGENCY shelter to citizens of this country (that is their job), and both parties failed to do so in a safe manner.

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.

[daywood1]

It is amazing that this discussion even extends beyond FEMA and Gulf Stream. FEMA contracted Gulf Stream to provide EMERGENCY shelter to citizens of this country (that is their job), and both parties failed to do so in a safe manner.

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.

[feelfrree4u]

monkey1140, OK, we in the GOP got our clown in twice. Your turn with bozo the Negro clown, this year. Betcha my life savings he won''t get re-elected in 2012, though.

[monkeyman1140]

So much for buying American! The corruption in our society is astounding. This is what happens when government simply quits caring about the public. We all know business has no soul and would sell us radioactive poisonous goods if they could get away with it. The government is our only safety bulwark and under the Bushies it has become a rubber stamp for corporations.

Congratulations America, you deserve this. You voted those clowns into office....twice.

[feelfrree4u]

One thought comes to mind: to h*e*ll with the ingrates who whine about the quality of FREE trailers. Next time we give them NOTHING. How''s NOTHING work for you, you da*mn ungrateful b*as*tards? How''s sleeping on the mud working out for you, as*sw*ipes? Shee-it, stories like this make me mad. Pathetic, whiny, ungrateful, lazy, good-for-nothing, ba*st*ards.

[fee1free4u]

Considering that 90% of those who lost their "homes" in New Orleans were impoverished blacks who lived in the projects in squalor, either as renters or on welfare, these trailers, even with their minor defects, must have seemed like the freekin Taj Mahal by comparison. We should have made them pay extra for the formaldehyde, like it was a "bonus".

[sociald63]

we should let the same japanese carmakers (see cbs story on the toyoya solar panels) engineer these trailers - problem solved :)

[three-o-six]

All this fuss about formaldehyde and no one tells you that formaldehyde is produced by burning alcohol in internal combustion engines. The more alcohol we burn as fuel the more formaldehyde we will be dumping into the atmosphere. Glad I don''t live in LA, Chicago or NY City.

The EPA is aware of this - check out their web site.

[steve773834]

I think Arman could have asked questions like "if the smell was so bad, then why didn''t you just quit?" or "were you recently laid off?" My point is that this interview is very one sided and for every RV worker who "questions" the materials used to build these units, there are 1000 or more who take pride in what they build. The RV industry is NOT to blame for these FEMA units having problems, the units were built to code as established by FEMA. FEMA is the problem. All these years the RV industry has built units for FEMA and ONLY during the Katrina disaster did we have problems? Someone should ask FEMA about that. They should also ask why in the past were FEMA trailers assigned within days of delivery to holding areas, while during Katrina it took almost a year to send out trailers to the victims. Be a good investigative reporter Arman, or go back to HBO sports!

[mandylou4u]

I agree to that, but people know our government will put anything on us to get ahead or make a buck, usually at our expense. Another problem was, those trailors sat for a very long time, too long, in a field with no canopy and in direct sunlight. This chemical worsens in direct sunlight too. I really feel bad for some of these folks, all I try to tell people is don''t trust that your government will actually try to help you without trying to get ahead at the same time, no matter what it does to the American person.

[mandylou4u]

I knew a woman that came to my state after Katrina hit. She said she wouldn''t live in one of those trailors. She came here, stayed at a shelter for about a month, got a job, and now has her own place to live here. It''s all in what you are willing to do for yourself, not what others are willing to do for you.