Evaluation of mitigation strategies for reducing formaldehyde concentrations in unoccupied Federal Emergency Management Agency-owned travel trailers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gressel, Michael G. ; Wilder, Lynn C.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Center for Environmental Health (U.S.). Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects.
• Description:
  Following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August 2005, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) purchased more than 145,000 travel trailers, park model trailers, manufactured homes, and non-mobile pre-fabricated housing units to provide temporary housing for families who were displaced by the storms and had no other options for housing. This report contains the findings for this investigation, “Evaluation of Mitigation Strategies for Reducing Formaldehyde Concentrations in Unoccupied Federal Emergency Management Agency-Owned Travel Trailers.” This research was conducted jointly by the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
  
  The primary objective of this investigation was to assess the effectiveness of a series of mitigation solutions in reducing formaldehyde concentrations in FEMA-provided travel trailers used for temporary housing following disasters. Other compounds monitored included acetic acid and 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol di-isobutyrate (TMPD-DIB). Testing for other aldehydes and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was conducted to ensure that the tested solutions were not generating other chemicals of potential health concern.
  
  The evaluated technologies fall into four broad categories: ventilation, oxidation, diffusion/adsorption, and ionization. Sixteen different devices from these technologies (along with controls) were assessed by air sampling in 15 travel trailers before, during, and after the units operated. Researchers assessed the effectiveness of each device in reducing indoor concentrations of formaldehyde and other contaminants.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor/adverse Effects Air Pollution, Indoor/analysis Emergency Shelter Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Formaldehyde/adverse Effects Formaldehyde/analysis Housing/standards
• Document Type:
  Pamphlet (or booklet)
• Place as Subject:
  Louisiana ; Mississippi
• Pages in Document:
  vi, 173 numbered pages
• Collection(s):
  Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:0c184c87c3ad9a54fc96ac703db285f70a8c8ea77c727a4d10ab485efcd6ce3e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/26758/cdc_26758_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 12.40 MB ]