US hurricane victims' emergency trailers 'toxic' (+video)

Photo / Reuters

The US government confirmed what many victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita had feared ... that the air in their emergency trailers is making some of them sick.

Centers for Disease Control Director Julie Gerberding said the agency's preliminary tests on travel trailers and mobile homes found formaldehyde levels that were five times higher on average than those in regular homes.

"We're making the recommendation that all of the people in these situations be relocated to safer, permanent housing as quickly as possible, and certainly before the warm summer months arrive."

38 thousand families live in trailers and mobile homes more than two years after the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator David Paulison said his agency is moving as fast as it can.

- Reuters