Paulison said FEMA incorporated applicable federal codes in ordering the mobile homes. Regarding trailers, which are not subject to federal regulation, those sold to the public and to FEMA in the past produced few complaints, he said. "We bought them in good faith, just like we have for the last 20 years."

The largest housing orders were filled by Fleetwood Enterprises and Gulf Stream Coach. FEMA's $520 million order from Gulf Stream, the largest from any builder, exceeded the company's reported 2004 recreational vehicle sales and was its first direct federal contract.

Formaldehyde is a colorless gas present at background levels in nature but emitted from the resins and glues used in many construction components, including particleboard flooring, plywood wall panels, composite wood cabinets and laminated countertops. Emissions are greatest in warm weather and when trailers are newly constructed, the conditions experienced by Katrina victims on the Gulf Coast.

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But manufacturers did not discuss, nor did FEMA ask, if it would be safe to house evacuees in trailers for 18 months or more with such materials. "They did not," Paulison said. "I don't think they were asked, either."

A spokeswoman for Fleetwood, based in Riverside, Calif., whose subsidiaries produced 10,600 trailers and 3,000 mobile homes for FEMA, said the company did not discuss the formaldehyde issue with the agency. "You know, when something hasn't been a problem, you often don't suddenly consider that it will be. I don't believe that anybody expected these people to stay in the trailers as long as people have stayed in them," Kathy Munson said.

Fleetwood said its trailers, which were built with only higher-quality, low-emitting wood products that the company said met federal standards for mobile homes, had the lowest levels of formaldehyde, with only 10 percent exceeding the CDC benchmark. Gulf Stream's trailers had the highest levels, with more than 50 percent topping the CDC standard.

‘Relied on the representations’
Gulf Stream's lawyers said in a letter to congressional investigators that the company mostly met a "longstanding policy" to buy components that comply with mobile home standards, but it acknowledged exceptions. They said the firm "did not conduct any testing on components or parts" but instead "relied on the representations" of its suppliers about their quality.

Brian Delaney, a Gulf Stream spokesman, said he could not respond to questions, citing in part litigation. Among other companies whose trailers tested high in the CDC study, Keystone RV declined to comment. Forest River referred questions to the industry's trade group, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association.

Dave Hoefer Sr., chairman of Pilgrim International, said the pending lawsuits limited what he could say, but he pointed out that FEMA specifications prompted his company to put in fewer sidewall openings than usual, which may have restricted ventilation. He said his company had never received a complaint about formaldehyde and used its usual materials to build Katrina trailers.

An industry association spokesman, Robert Feldman, said symptoms may be caused by mold, Katrina-related chemical spills, smoking or local climate factors. "There may be a rush to conclude formaldehyde is the issue when in fact the results seem to suggest the answer is a little more complex," he said.

However, others said that in 2005 and 2006, much of the nation's hardwood plywood came from Asia and was high in formaldehyde. China's share of the North American market has grown from 4 percent to nearly 40 percent since 2001, according to the Hardwood Plywood & Veneer Association, which represents North American producers.

"The most likely source of formaldehyde in the Katrina trailers and in all travel trailers are composite wood products . . . [and] the most likely source for those materials are imported products," primarily from China, said Elizabeth Whalen, director of corporate sustainability for Columbia Forest Products, of Portland, Ore., the association's largest U.S. plywood manufacturer.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) demanded a U.S. trade investigation after domestic producers complained in 2006 that containers of imported hardwood plywood reeked of formaldehyde, products advertised as having low formaldehyde emissions were falsely labeled and sample tests showed levels much higher than allowed in federal housing.

"There's no real enforcement authority by the government," said Gail Overgard, vice president of Timber Products in Springfield, Ore.

Little regulation
No binding safety standard exists for formaldehyde in any U.S. homes, even though the chemical was classified as a human carcinogen by the World Health Organization in 2004 and is deemed a probable carcinogen by the U.S. government.

But early this year, the CDC reported that 41 percent of the trailers it tested in December and January had levels of formaldehyde greater than 100 parts per billion, the level that the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommends as safe for 15 minutes of exposure by workers.

California health regulators estimate that lifetime exposure to formaldehyde at 100 parts per billion increases cancer risk by 50 cases per 100,000 people.

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