A top CDC scientist, considered by some as a whistleblower, told a congressional panel that his bosses at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have ignored his repeated warnings about the health hazards posed by formaldehyde fumes found in emergency trailers.
"I stated that such clinical signs were a 'harbinger of a pending public health catastrophe,'" Christopher De Rosa said in written testimony, as quoted by AP.
"I stressed the importance of alerting the trailer residents to the potential reproductive, developmental and carcinogenic effects ... (but) the only response I received was that such matters should not be discussed in e-mails since they might be 'misinterpreted,'" AP quotes.
The testimony was presented Tuesday at a House Science and Technology subcommittee hearing. Committee Democrats accuse FEMA of manipulating scientific research to downplay the dangers and consider Christopher De Rosa a whistleblower who might have been removed from his job after a distinguished 30-year career because of his integrity.
"The (committee) considers Dr. De Rosa a whistle-blower," said Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., chairman of the panel, quoted by USA Today. "He sought to repeatedly raise the alarm within the CDC that a public health disaster was unraveling before them."
Investigation showed that formaldehyde levels in the trailers differ greatly. Apparently, four of the six most popular brands are among the most toxic, a federal study released in early March found.
Air samples from trailers made by Gulf Stream, Keystone, Pilgrim and Forest River contained more than four times the formaldehyde levels that are found in newer U.S. homes, according to the study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency had provided 56,000 trailers to Katrina victims in 2005 and 2006, until their homes were restored. But last month FEMA evacuated the hurricane victims from 35,000 trailers, after tests revealed toxic levels of formaldehyde fumes.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found average levels of 77 parts formaldehyde per billion parts of air, much higher than the 10 to 17 parts per billion concentrations seen in newer homes.
Formaldehyde is a colorless gas which can cause respiratory problems and has been classified by scientists as carcinogen. Scientists have said that the problem was not to be generalizable to other travel trailers in the country. Heat and other factors may increase formaldehyde levels. FEMA declared that it was making efforts to find safer alternatives to trailers and mobile homes.
