WASHINGTON – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., issued the following statement Thursday in reaction to a conclusion by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that formaldehyde levels are higher than normal in FEMA travel trailers and mobile homes provided to families made homeless by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“The preliminary findings on formaldehyde issued today by the CDC are deeply troubling, not just for the disturbing news they contain for thousands of victims already knocked off their feet by Hurricane Katrina but also because it has taken FEMA so long to finish the testing, despite longstanding concerns. FEMA must expeditiously move trailer occupants into alternative housing that doesn’t pose a danger to their health.”