DANGERS OF FORMALDEHYDE DANGERS OF FORMALDEHYDE REPORTING TOXIC TRAILERS REPORTING TOXIC TRAILERS -To report formadelhyde problems to FEMA, call 1-866-562-2381.

-To request emergency housing, call 1-800-621-3362.

-To request reimbursement for medical expenses caused by formadelhyde exposure, fax a doctor's letter along with bills to 1-800-827-8112.

-To purchase a formadelhyde self-test kit for $34, call Advanced Chemical Sensors at 561-338-3116.



Source: toxictrailers.com, sierraclub.com TOXIC TRAILERS TOXIC TRAILERS Testing begins: Feds start air quality tests FEMA flunks: Tests find high levels of formaldehyde fumes Idle trailers: Tornado victims may get extras Opinion: Toxic trailers for hurricane victims? Heckuva job, FEMA Blog: Democrats claim FEMA downplayed formaldehyde risks in Katrina trailers NEW ORLEANS  Paul Stewart knew as soon as he moved into his government-issued trailer in December 2005 that something was wrong. He said it wasn't long before he started waking up with a scratchy throat. His wife, Melody, woke up with bloody noses. The couple, who had lost their home in Bay St. Louis, Miss., during the Gulf Coast hurricanes, said they asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a new trailer. But they were refused. On Thursday, FEMA admitted what the Stewarts and thousands of other displaced Gulf Coast residents have feared all along: their government-issued trailers were toxic. The revelation came after months of congressional hearings and allegations by whistle-blowers that FEMA suppressed evidence of formaldehyde fumes. David Paulison, FEMA's director, said the agency will act immediately to move out more than 38,000 families still living in trailers because of Gulf Coast hurricanes. Tests show dangerous levels of formaldehyde in hundreds of the trailers, according to FEMA. At a New Orleans news conference, Paulison said officials were "moving as fast as we can" to move the most vulnerable trailer residents to alternative housing, including hotels and motels. Tests of 519 trailer and mobile homes in Louisiana and Mississippi revealed that a third had unacceptably high levels of formaldehyde for children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems, said Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She said 5% of trailers registered fumes so toxic that even healthy adults would suffer respiratory symptoms if exposed for long periods of time. The revelations come nearly two years after early tests showed high levels of the toxic gas in trailers and a month after a congressional committee accused FEMA of pressuring the CDC to downplay health risks attached to the trailers due to liability concerns. FEMA and CDC officials have denied the allegations. "FEMA has acted throughout this not out of concern for the health of the people who lived in the trailers but out of concern for public embarrassment and legal liability," said Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., of the House Committee on Science and Technology, which launched an investigation. Gerberding said it was CDC's recommendation that "all be relocated as quickly as possible and certainly before the warm summer months arrive." Paulison said a joint federal-state task force has been formed to handle the relocations. Residents have complained of respiratory and sinus problems from their FEMA trailers almost immediately after the agency began distributing them in late 2005. FEMA provided about 120,000 travel trailers to Gulf Coast victims of the hurricanes. Stewart, the Bay St. Louis native who lost his house, said he got rid of his FEMA-issued trailer just three months after acquiring it in December 2005. "It's like you always have a cold," he said. "You have a scratchy throat, your eyes are always burning, your nose is always running. You just don't feel good." Two months after moving into the trailer, the Stewarts pet cockatiel CiCi got sick and later died. "When your bird starts to get sick, then you know you have a problem," said Stewart. Paulison on Thursday rejected allegations that FEMA was slow to react to the unsafe trailers. He said FEMA had "been very aggressively moving people out of travel trailers" and noted that 15,000 families had been moved since November and that 800 to 1,000 are moved out each week. "We do care about the people. We are moving as fast as we can," he said. He said FEMA would never again use trailers to house hurricane and other disaster victims. Mobile homes, which are designed for long-term use, would be used instead, he said. Andrea Stone reported from McLean, Va. Enlarge By Alex Brandon, AP Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator David Paulison and CDC Director Julie Gerberding discuss the trailers issued to hurricane victims. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.