July 11, 2008 07:52 pm
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There’s a lesson to be learned from this week’s House hearing about formaldehyde in FEMA trailers. That lesson is: When there is an absence of regulation there will be a lot of blame thrown about when a new problem comes up.
To recap the situation, a House committee had representatives from four Elkhart County RV firms testify about the formaldehyde levels in trailers used by Hurricane Katrina victims. Democrats on the committee faulted the companies, saying the companies knew formaldehyde was making people sick. Republicans on the committee said the companies were not at fault because there are no government standards for formaldehyde levels.
One company, Gulf Stream, provided evidence it contacted the Federal Emergency Management Administration asking if it wanted action taken on the situation. FEMA officials told Gulf Stream no.
What we conclude from this hearing is that since there were no government standards to violate, nothing wrong was done by the trailer manufacturers.
What needs to be done now is for Congress to urge government agencies to set formaldehyde standards for all occupied dwellings and vehicles. Once standards are adopted, the companies that manufacture particle board and plywood products would have to reduce their reliance on adhesives that contain formaldehyde.
RV company leaders have already learned from this process and in June their professional group adopted the California Air Resources Board’s standards for formaldehyde emission levels. Those standards will be phased in during the next 18 months. The new standards will reduce formaldehyde levels in RVs by 57 percent.
The House hearing turned no new dirt, but it did highlight that the government, not the manufacturers, has been behind in protecting the public.
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