Lawyers Argue FEMA Should Be Dismissed from Toxic Trailer Lawsuits

Yesterday lawyers representing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) argued that the agency should be dismissed from federal lawsuits filed over toxic trailers provided after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Government lawyers argued that FEMA should be immune from liability, but lawyers representing families who lived in the toxic trailers told the court that the agency’s negligence went “hand in hand” with the negligence of the manufacturers.

After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast and displaced thousands from their homes, FEMA spent $2.5 billion to purchase 140,000 trailers for victims to live in. The trailers were obtained from manufacturers and recreational vehicle dealers, but FEMA only specified minimal requirements for the specifications of the trailers.

During the weeks and months after displaced residents from the Gulf Coast began living in the trailers, occupants started reporting problems such as burning in the eyes, nose and mouth, and difficulty with breathing.  A CDC investigation has discovered that elevated levels of formaldehyde were present in the trailers, exposing approximately 300,000 people, including many children, to what some have called a public health disaster.

Formaldehyde is an industrial chemical, which is carcinogenic at high levels. The high levels of found in the toxic trailers has been linked to pressed wood products, such as plywood and particle board. The wood emitted toxic formaldehyde fumes, particularly in newly constructed trailers and during warm weather, and they were not properly ventilated, leading to an prolonged exposure to the fumes.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt heard arguments on July 23, 2008 in FEMA’s motion to be released from a class action lawsuit filed over the toxic trailers. FEMA lawyers argued that the manufacturers were responsible and that the government agency should be released from the lawsuits since it did not oversee the day-to-day operations of the manufacturers.

Lawyers for the disaster victims want FEMA to share legal liability with the trailer manufacturers for ignoring concerns about excess formaldehyde levels for months. They have asked Engelhardt to certify the consolidated cases as a class action against the trailer manufacturers and FEMA on behalf of thousands of hurricane victims in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Alabama.