FEMA trailer plaintiff dies of lung cancer; had claimed exposure to formaldehyde

[cui bono]

BATON ROUGE, La. -

Desiree Collins, 47, died July 2, her lawyer said. She had asked the federal court in Baton Rouge to approve her suit as a class action against companies that sold trailers to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

<snip>

Woods said he hasn’t determined whether formaldehyde is to blame for the cancer, and forensics specialists will test tissue samples taken while Collins was alive.

Formaldehyde is used in a number of materials inside the trailers. It can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and skin, according the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
As of May, FEMA had received 140 formaldehyde complaints.


<snip>

In court documents filed this week, Bone wrote that the company’s trailers were safe, met FEMA guidelines and complied with state and federal law.

http://news.bostonherald.com/national/south/view.bg?articleid=1011195

[aquart]

1. Yes, and now I'd like to see his off shore bank account.

[Swamp Rat]

2. I spent 5 minutes inside a FEMA trailer and then I had to leave.

The whole thing smelled of formaldehyde and other chemicals.

Btw, the trailers are so weakly put together I could demolish one with a ball peen hammer.

[blues90]

3. This is the crime of the century .

It has long been a known fact that formaldehyde does constantly release toxic fumes especially when it is exposed to heat . I know many years ago I bought partical board because it was cheap to make a reptile tank and if i stuck my head in the warmed cage my eye's burned and I got rid of the cage .

Partical board is used to build even mobile homes and formaldehyde is used as part of a binder in the manufacturing process , however a mobile home is much larger than these horrid FEMA trailers and has many more windows .

Partical board can be sealed to contain the fumes but there is no way these trailers should be considered safe to live in , I don't think this was their designed intent , it was just a cheap way to provide housing .

They now use partical board for even new homes as beams and sheeting .

This mess and ignorence has gone on far to long in the miss gulf and new orleans and so far I have not heard one politician address this as a urgent issue . It is a crime to humanity yet nothing is ever done or talked about .

People get up in arms over the treatment of pets which they should but what about these people stuck in these trailers , what about them .

Man , if I had millions I would be there doing something to fight this madness . I heard Sarge call into Malloys show last friday and he even said he will never go back to Miss after this last trip .

People better realize that it may be about blacks and the poor but there will come the day where all people who lose out may very well end up in a situtation as bad as this . The suicide rate is up 300% there now . These greedy fucks could have opened up the low rent buildings that were not damaged and could have done this soon after the storm but they remain off limits because of stinking money and profit .

[jmowreader]

4. It depends on where you're getting the particle board

Potlatch's particle board, made in Post Falls, Idaho, uses a urethane binder. It is very low formaldehyde.

The shit I sell, that's made on the east coast? That smells like the frogs kids cut up in biology class, and it's strong enough to smell it from the next aisle. Fortunately, I can usually talk people OUT of buying it--I've got at least three things that are better than particle board.

The one major advantage particle board has is that it is probably the least environmentally impactful sheet on the market; it is made largely from collected sawdust. OTOH, the only thing giving you strength in a particle board sheet is the glue. Not a good situation.

[cui bono]

5. And yet they just reported the same problem with trailers being used

at the US Embassy in Iraq. Those trailers were made by a Saudi company iirc.