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Article

10 Jul 2008

Author:
Spencer Hsu, Washington Post

Findings on Katrina Trailers Went Undisclosed, Maker Says [USA]

A leading U.S. trailer manufacturer failed to disclose to Hurricane Katrina evacuees or the government its internal findings that formaldehyde in some units exceeded a federal health standard by as much as 45 times in 2006, its chairman acknowledged to Congress yesterday. Jim Shea, chairman of Gulf Stream Coach [part of Fairmont Homes], which built 50,000 trailers for the Federal Emergency Management Agency…, said his company decided that its results were "irrelevant information" because FEMA already knew about high formaldehyde levels… In hindsight Gulf Stream should have shared information from its sampling, Shea said... The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...identified...Gulf Stream, Forest River [part of Berkshire Hathaway], Keystone [part of Thor Industries] and Pilgrim International...as having significant problems.