SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS

After Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency provided travel trailers, park models and mobile homes to Gulf Coast residents who had lost their homes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory measured air formaldehyde concentrations in whole trailers and emissions from specific parts of each trailer, such as walls, floors, ceilings, tables and cabinets of four vacant, never-used trailers provided by FEMA.

Formaldehyde emissions from the four whole trailers studied ranged from 173 to 266 micrograms per meter per hour in the morning to 257 to 347 micrograms per meter per hour in the afternoon due to increasing temperatures.

"Construction materials that emit high concentrations of formaldehyde, when part of a relatively small structure that has poor ventilation, have the potential to produce elevated levels of formaldehyde in the indoor air", Michael McGeehin of the CDC said in a statement.

A previous study found the average level of formaldehyde in all FEMA trailer units was about 77 parts per billion -- a range of 3 ppb to 590 ppb. It was determined health could be affected at the levels seen in many of the trailers, the CDC said.

 BREAKING STORIES

Cuban exiles irked by aid cutoff rule

Tropical Storm Marco hits Mexican coast

Midwest storm damage tops $675 million

Report: Ike costs Houston $6 billion

Death toll from Haiti storms reaches 800

Hurricane leaves dirty water behind

Ike's environmental damage feared serious

Busy October hurricane period is forecast

Wetlands restoration: A false hope?

Ike runs up Texas-size tab of up to $52B

'Cane storm surge data needs improvement

Farm Aid to help those devastated by Ike

Aggies game forces evacuees to move

Ike's winds may hit Texas taxpayers

Johnson Space Center to reopen Monday

Texans hope to use Reliant Stadium Oct. 5

Refinery damage not so bad, official says

Ike may limit Texas beach construction

Gulf Coast refineries weathered Ike well

Ike blamed for at least 28 deaths