FEMA Trailers......formaldehyde

[hammersley]

Listen to this tape - 50,000 trailers in storage..... contaminated with Formaldehyde - isn't that the typical smell in most RV's... I mean are folks being poisoned by these trailers even the ones WE USE???????????



http://www.crooksandliars.com/Media/Download/23247/1/CBS-FEMA-trailers-110807.wmv

 

[jelag]

You all understand this is Media HYPE..... all trailers made here have had Formaldehyde controls and standards for 10 years... .

There has always been a new smell to cars, trailers, etc... but I'm betting that they all pass the standards...

 

[WestTN]

I've recently (August, 2007) been in new RV's where the formaldehyde fumes burn your throat and eyes witin 2 minutes. Now`imagine 16-24 hours a day for a year or more. It is most definitely NOT media hype.

 

[icman95]

When we bought our new trailer we noticed the smell and eye/throat burn right away-even before we hooked up to it in the dealer's lot. They told us exactly what it was and that it was used as a preservative for the unit. I"m still not sure how this works, but they told us to park it with the windows and vents open for a week or two and all would be fine. They were right. The formaldehyde dissipated and we can't smell it anymore. While it sucks that this is still a problem for the FEMA trailers, I wonder why it hasn't dissipated in those trailers yet.



By the way, if anyone can tell me exactly how and why they use it in the manufacturing process, I'd love to know.

 

[TRLRTRSH]

icman95: I wonder why it hasn't dissipated in those trailers yet.



Because the trailers have been sitting there for several years now totally closed up.

We purchased our first manufactured home that is one year old now. If we go away for a few days and come back, you can still smell the formaldhehyde, not as bad as when new but still there. Any time you purchase a new manufactured home or RV you have to air it out for quite a while.

To a certain extent it is MEDIA HYPE because THEY do not know what the heck they are talking about.

 

[AABEN]

If you will open the top air vents turn the fans on it pulls out the air and makes it air out faster . I put rain covers on my air vents that way you can let it air out till it is clear out.

 

[AABEN]

Well we tryed to help out people and then thay try to find somting to cry about. I say if thay don,t like the trailers give them tents. Then thay will be glaid yo take the trailers.

 

[CumminsPower98]

I too have been in new trailers and some of them were mega strong with fumes causing eye/throat burn in a big way. I'm now living in a 2007 and I can feel it in my lungs at times. I hope I'm not killing myself too bad. It's too bad they use chemicals this strong that can and I'm sure do cause health problems. Then there are all the fire retardant chemicals in everything...

 

[icman95]

If you will open the top air vents turn the fans on it pulls out the air and makes it air out faster . I put rain covers on my air vents that way you can let it air out till it is clear out.

Ditto me. Rain vents were the best and cheapest mod I could have made.

 

[KBalzuweit]

Made the front page of msnbc.com now. There are talking about huge law suites against the rv companies totally billions of dollars!! That will just destroy the rv industry and bankrupt a bunch of the companies that built them. Its is funny how FEMA pressured these companies to build fast and now will just let them take the fall.

 

[jelag]

We're back to the same thing... there are federal standards for chemicals used in RV's and wood, OSB, Gluelams, Plywood etc... . those standards set forth 10 or so years ago set the max. level of formaldhehyde and other toxic chemicals...

 

[icman95]

I'm still curious. I now what formaldehyde is, but how is it used/applied in an RV? Is it on the wooden frames or something inside? Is it sprayed on or is the wood for the frame soaked in it like treated lumber?

 

[CumminsPower98]

I hear what you are saying but you can't just trust the government. They may set guidelines but that doesn't mean the chemicals are safe and if it can make your eyes/throat burn that is obviously something in the air that's harming you. Any level of this stuff is going to have negative affects on your health over time. I could go on and on about food additives, pesticides, herbasides, the FDA, food companies, big pharma, congress, lobbyists, health care (or lack of it) and how they are all working together to make big money at the expense of our health. Its no wonder we are such a sick and fat nation with all the pollutants and chemicals everywhere.



I have a relative who had to quit the construction business in Hawaii due to getting sick from breathing sawdust from treated lumber. Some people are much more sensitive to chemicals then others, I know but we all suffer in some way in the long run even if you don't feel it right away.

We're back to the same thing... there are federal standards for chemicals used in RV's and wood, OSB, Gluelams, Plywood etc... . those standards set forth 10 or so years ago set the max. level of formaldhehyde and other toxic chemicals...

 

[PToombs]

Plastic is bad too. I bought an air mattress once, darn thing almost killed my mother with the fumes outgassing just opening the bag.

 

[EdK]

Still have it?

Ptoombs,



Still have the air matress? I need to give it to my mother-in-law!:-laf

 

[PToombs]

Ed, just go to Walmart and buy one made in China! The added bonus is it probably has lead paint too!

:-laf

 

[BillGotthelf]

Formaldehyde is an additive in the glues used to bind particle board and OSB board together. Also the glues used to glue the layers in plywood together. When used in construction it has a chance to dissipate but not in construction of a camper. Look at the typical construction of cheaper campers walls, floors, ceilings, cabinets , vanities and closets. It is everywhere. The amounts used in the glue under normal circumstances should be gone within a relatively short period of time if properly vented. Heat and moisture extend the time that it takes to vent.

 

[icman95]

Thanks Bill G. Good info. I always assumed that it was put on the wood frames as a preservative to increase the useful life of the RV. I had no reason to believe this, just I couldn't think of any other use for it. Now I know.

 

[AABEN]

A lot of trailers are now using aluminum frames to keep the weight down.

 

[AKaiser]

We have several hundred of these FEMA trailers (both mobile homes and TTs) here where I work (Camp Atterbury, IN) and the initial report when we first got them to store was they were pretty strong due to being left closed up. I'm sure the fumes will dissipate. You gotta think normal sale cycle probably isn't anywhere near as rapid as what FEMA needed, regarding turnaround time. Most of the consumer purchased trailers probably had a little time to sit on their own, and no one really NEEDED to be in the TT before it was ventilated.