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.

[whitemale08]

Of course they knew. That''s why they gave such a low price to the government.

That''s why you call it "free markets".

[downtowner97]

In Oregon, manufactured homes all come with a formaldehyde warning stapled to the kitchen cabinets. Most regular homes are built using OSB sheething which contains formaldehyde. This is not a big news story.

[u-r-right]

All RV''s contain formaldehyde in their building materials. In hot weather, the curing process lets off a gas that can irritate your throat and eyes. Opening the windows, doors and ceiling vents clears the problem in a matter of minutes. The problem lasts for about 2 years. I''ve had several RV''s and they all did this to some degree. No big deal. The REAL problem is these people lived in them full time for too long. These trailers are not meant to be lived in more than a couple weeks at a time. Mold also becomes a problem when the trailers are lived in full time for extended periods.

[stn_sage]

First, I disagree with a previous poster who said, "this is not a big news story", it''s a VERY big story!

Second, not mentioned in the article is the fact people who have lived in these trailers have DIED as a result of formaldehyde inhalation and at least dozens of others have suffered respiratory illnesses! And the number affected is growing due to those who remain in trailers because FEMA hasn''t supplied other housing!

Third, also not mentioned is FEMA''s denial and cover-up of it''s actions refusing to acknowledge complaints and appropriately respond to them, fully aware of the danger these trailers posed! Hence, there will be lawsuits against FEMA for messing up, yet again, which seems to be their standard operating procedure under this administration.

Fourth, the manufacturers and the FEMA reps who knew about these problems, who denied them and lied about them, and who obstructed the process, and who have failed to provide acceptable housing which was their responsibility should be---must be---charged with criminal offenses---from manslaughter to obstruction of justice.

Finally, FEMA is a true disaster zone! The next administration would be best advised to let everyone go and entirely re-staff it. Sheer incompetence in this department is resulting in citizens killed! Yes, this IS a very big story!

[lovesamerica]

I guess the next time something of this magnitude happens everyone should just fend for themselves and find a box to live in

[randynason]

The company that made them knew. The government knew and did nothing after finding out about it. Both are guilty and have tried to weasel out of their responsibility since all this news has come to light. Tell me again the silly notion that we are supposed to show respect for our government, when it does nothing to earn that respect.

[lovesamerica]

It was a disaster!!!! No one knew what to do! the people were helped out for what was supposed to be a short time,not helping themselves is what caused any illnesses. Maybe you can take a bunch of folks into your home after the next disaster requiring government help.

[lovesamerica]

I believe that plenty of white people got trailers too. Maybe just fewer of them took up permanent residency

[cbsfan73]

Let''s put the blame where it belongs - on government officials. Once again they have failed in their duties. They have known since the 70''s that formaldehyde is very harmful to a person''s health and have did nothing about it.

Either they are getting their pockets padded by those in the industry or simply do not care about American citizens. Probably both.

[mrbrill]

The company put profits above the safety of the trailers'' occupants but also above the safety of their own employees. Why are companies allowed to do this? There should be criminal charges here.

[nothappyatall]

people who worked on the trailer production lines and say the manufacturers knew they had a formaldehyde problem."

DUH! we all knew that, ALL that pressboard, insulation, particleboard etc are made with glues that contain formaldehyde- that''s been in the news and on caution labels for years.
That "revelation" is lok telling us there''s mercury in amalgum fillings!


"That%u2019s a pace, former employees say, that"

AHHHH, there''s the rub; "FORMER" employees! gotta wonder why they are FORMER, and then how much weight to give to claims by FIRED, angry, ex employees. NONE called OSHA or made any formal complaints BEFORE?


"Opening the windows, doors and ceiling vents clears the problem in a matter of minutes. "

And when it''s 100 degrees and 100% humidity?

Travel trailers are for VACATION TRIPS, not full time residences! not only do they have almost no insulation but they have always been flimsy cheap krap. There are some models that are built on frames that before you add water and supplies or people are already over the weight rating for the frame.

[cbsfan73]

"AHHHH, there''''s the rub; "FORMER" employees! gotta wonder why they are FORMER, and then how much weight to give to claims by FIRED, angry, ex employees. NONE called OSHA or made any formal complaints BEFORE?"
Posted by Newster1

Who said they were fired? The reporter said the whole building was shuttered...

[harpoot]

Had to be another Bushit no-bid contract. Max profits and to hell with the end user.

[oneworldusa]

So, what about the supplier of the formaldehyde ridden products? If harmful products weren''t available, they couldn''t have been used.

[clew37]

Whatever you think about the people who had to live in these trailers, their kids didn''t deserve to be gassed. Most of these people didn''t stand a chance in life without a hurricane. Bad nutrition, bad homelife, bad schools, bad housing. Being ignorant and poor shouldn''t mean you always get the short end of the stick, but it often does. With gas and pharmacutical prices the way they are, many of us might end up in trailers too.

[juwboy]

I wonder if the residents of these trailers breathed as much formaldehyde as perfectly healthy people who are exposed to formaldehyde daily, such as embalmers, pathologists and medical/biological researchers.

Are their symptoms real or compensation-induced?

One of my favorite stories was published in Chemical and Engineering News about 20 years ago. Employees in a Midwest City Hall were warned that a section of their building was going to be repainted on a certain date so it was possible they`d be exposed to solvent fumes.

On the day in question, numerous employees in the city`s LEGAL department complained of a plethora of symptoms such as headaches, coughs, watery eyes combined with general debilitation and fatigue.

Unfortunately for them, the repainting had been postponed to a later date!

[ahrats]

The formaldehyde problem will dissapear over time in the trailers. It''s probally from most of the particle board used for flooring and cabinetry and the product just came from the factory due time constraints. These same trailers are probally much safer now then when they were constructed. You have similar problems with new carpet.Indoor air quality has been a concern for years due to tight buildings, no more leaky windows and doors, the new smell from housing or cars may not be good for you depending from what materials its comming from.

[platteman]

Wonder why no one in Iowa blamed Bush for the flood and levie breaking. We saw no riots over the flood there, no one got cards to go buy whatever they wanted, the people just thanked FEMA and went on about their lives.

What part of this picture don''t people get?
No riots, no blame, no civil disobedience, just thanks that they were alive.

[mich5491]

In 1980, we purchased a new mobile home which had formaldehyde so bad it caused medical problems. The point is that formaldehyde issues have been known by the industry and the government for at least 28 years and nothing has been done to regulate it. For the RV and mobile home industry, it must be the easiest, lowest cost insulation available. Seems like there could have been a class action lawsuit on behalf of the thousands of people who have suffered temporary or chronic health issues because of formaldehyde.

[debb754]

Having worked during the 70s & 80s in a factory that supplied wall paneling to the travel trailer industry, I will tell you that formaldehyde fumes are truly a problem. On Monday mornings when we''d walk into our 1/4 million sq. ft. building (about 25% full of paneling) our eyes would water and breathing would be difficult. Formaldehyde-free paneling was available, but at a much higher cost.

In reading these posts I have one last comment. Maybe you racists who think these complaints are untrue should learn more about situations before you speak. Although, with your ignorance, it probably won''t happen. (And before you wonder, I am a white, upper-middle class woman.)

[sidvicious62]

Hey, if ya think hurricane victims got it bad, wait till ya see janitors. And them ''industrial strength cleaners''.

[antoniof123]

I see an immunity deal in the works.

[docpeter-2009]

The "...people who worked on the trailer production lines and say the manufacturers knew they had a formaldehyde problem."

But the decided What the he11, we are selling these to the USA govt.

[docpeter-2009]

Posted by juwboy at 05:12 AM : Jul 09, 2008, "I wonder if the residents of these trailers breathed as much formaldehyde as perfectly healthy people who are exposed to formaldehyde daily, such as embalmers, pathologists and medical/biological researchers.

Are their symptoms real or compensation-induced?"
________________________

Actually, probably a little of both. You would have to consider that many/most/all of these people were indigent, and therefore, were probably in poor to very poor health prior to occupying these trailers. If say they had signifcant kidney, liver, or lung damage prior to occupying the trailers then they had less healthy organs to begin with. Therefore even minimal assault could lead to significant further damage.

[tootall10142]

If they had used NOVADECK FROM GEORGIA- PACIFIC THIS WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED.If i knew that some one had done this on purpose to my family they would never make court date.this why i dont have but a few friends i wont stand for this kind of behavior toward any of my family . i have very little regaurd for the persons well being that believes im ignorant enough too let this happen and have been jailed for it in the past.they *** well fear me far more than i worry about a air conditoned jail cell with free food and medical.

[fralene-2009]

For all of you who are low life enough to think the Katrina victims should not quibble about poisonous trailers, I say look to your own houses and cars. Dozens of items you live with every day leach toxic fumes - those new clothes you like to wear without washing first, your carpet, anything made with particleboard, furniture fabric and padding, vinyl siding, vinyl mini blinds, PVC pipe, anything treated with flame retardants, etc. If you think the issue is so minor, then stick your noses up to any one of these items and breathe deeply - please!

[oleander8]

Posted by juwboy at 05:12 AM : Jul 09, 2008, "I wonder if the residents of these trailers breathed as much formaldehyde as perfectly healthy people who are exposed to formaldehyde daily, such as embalmers, pathologists and medical/biological researchers.
Are their symptoms real or compensation-induced?"

Are you serious? embalmers, pathologists and medical/biological researchers don''t eat, sleep, live in a formaldehyde environment without proper ventilation - nor are they babies and children.

You would do better to look at the profits of the managers of these companies. Stop blaming the victims.

[coppertales]

Seeing it has been over two years since NO got flooded, why don''t these deadbeats get off their hind quarters and make something of their lives like get a job and their own place to live. Everyone blames FEMA but no one blames NO or LA for their non help with this problem. NO and LA were supposed to be the first line of response to this disaster in the first place. What did they do? The mayor of NO moved his family to Dallas into a half million house, and the state of LA had ZERO disaster plan. They just stood in a circle with their right finger pointed to the side blaming the other person for their stupidity.

[dsr57]

I believe that plenty of white people got trailers too. Maybe just fewer of them took up permanent residency

Posted by lovesamerica
----------------------------------------------------

HA HA HA That is an awesome statement

[xmanborg]

I saw this last night on CBS and some of the former workers said they got nose bleeds and passed out due to the high amount of fumes coming from the low quality press board and other stuff.

Of Course Gulf Stream Coach & the Managers and Owners knew about these issues and they did not care. If you were a Major Owern of Gulf Stream Coach and there was a 522 million dollar contract IN YOUR FACE what one word would you use over and over again ?

The word is: YES, YES, YES we can do that.

[xmanborg]

CORPORATE GREED always wins out over PEOPLE AND PERSONAL Health Concerns.

[mandylou4u]

Why didn''t these people find somewhere else to live? These trailors are not permanent residences. Anywhere else you look, folks homes get destroyed by tornadoes, hurricaines, earthquakes, etc. You don''t see them sitting there crying about it, they got up and rebuilt or relocated somewhere else. By now, everyone should know there is formaldehyde in a travel trailor, we can''t change what happened, but now there is no excuse for taking care of yourself and not expecting a government agency to do it for you.

[anecdote1]

Nothing says ''home'' like a FEMA Formaldehyde trailer.

[whiskyrocker]

Another reason not to live in a trailer.

[mandylou4u]

all they had to do was tell people to open the windows and doors when you could. That stuff does go away in a matter of minutes and would have caused little to no damage in the way of health problems.

[xmanborg]

Posted by mandylou4u at 11:08 AM : Jul 09, 2008

That stuff does not go away its imbeded into the wood its part of the process of making the press board. Also mandylou4u you said just open the doors well lets see you constantly open the doors and air the place out when the temp is 100 degrees and you have gulf coast humidity.

Your facts are uncordinated.

[teaman6]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has regulated formaldehyde emissions from particle board and plywood used as building materials in mobile homes since 1985. HUD also has a ventilation requirement for mobile homes. Travel trailers and Park Model trailers are not covered by the HUD Code. So the manufacturer could have used materials that did not meet the HUD standard. Also from a physical view a small trailer has a larger surface area to volume ratio than a mobile home. Less ventilation, possible higher emmission rate and larger surface area to volume means a higher formaldehyde concentration in a travel trailer.


When setting appropriate standards for chemical exposure, traits of the chemical must be considered. In addition a decision about the target health effect must be established and the population to be protected must be established. Is the target health effect short term irritation or the long term risk of cancer? Should healthy adults, children, people with asthma be protected? Thus determining health based standards is a complex process of science and policy.

CBS has make a good start and I hope they continue to investigate the story and the complexities

[deacon20081]

Formaldehyde is also embalming fluid kids......
ironic is it not?

[luvcomments]

We''ve known about the hazards of formaldehyde for decades. I remember even seeing warning tags about it in brand new mobile homes ages and ages ago. And I read where the US regulates the formaldehyde content in products made in the US but not in materials that are imported from other countries. Who are they kidding? Of course they knew of the hazards but it doesn''t stop with the trailers - the materials containing formaldehyde are in almost everything we have in our homes. Probably in our cars (upholstery, maybe even in dashboards), schools, etc. Whaddya expect? Isn''t this the place where money comes first and the welfare of the people is talked about forever by those who want to look good, but actually don''t give a tinker''s cuss about anything but their pockets?

[mandylou4u]

O.k. common sense, since we need to actually tell people this, common sense says if you smell something funny, open the window. Don''t complain when someone set you up in a free place to live for a while. That''s called bitting the hand that feeds. Only stupid people don''t understand this. I live in the south, with humidity everyday, but if I knew something in my TEMPORARY HOME was stinkin'', i''d open a window for a little while. That should have been enough influence on these folks to get off their beehinds and get something done. Yes they were sad for losing their homes, but also very very lazy.

[mswolfestock]

Gulf Stream cut corners because they knew they could get away with it. All they wanted to do was get rich off of others'' misery. They were licking their chops over the huge amount of money that FEMA threw at them. Gulf Stream knew that they could easily buffalo those stupid FEMA inspectors. FEMA was just trying to cover itself after it failed so poorly at evacuating the affected areas before Katrina made landfall. So ironic - if FEMA had done its job in the first place there would not have been a need for these deadly trailers. But corporate greed is the American Way - we have been dying for others'' greed since the Revolution.

If these trailers are safe, then we should insist that the big-wigs at Gulf Stream live in them with their families and kids WITH ALL THE DOORS AND WINDOWS CLOSED.

[billpl-2009]

FEMA for disaster relief

Since when did they get into the slum lord business?

[Syndicate]

The companies that knew should be sued out of existence.

[mandylou4u]

If those trailers were the only option at the time, that is what they would have to live with. I understand with the situation most of them didn''t have another option, but we really can''t rely on our government to actually help us without hurting us in the process. All I am saying is, if you are in this predicament, you have to do what you have to do at the time. Blaming people won''t work in this country.

[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.

[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.

[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!

[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.

[sociald63]

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

[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".