FEMA ‘Toxic Trailers’ and Manufactured Housing

by Scott Young

The AP published a update today on FEMA and its toxic-trailers and the news is not good.  It is yet another chorus of a sad song: Katrina victims were relocated to the contaminated trailers under FEMA supervision. 

These days, debate centers on whether the manufacturers or the officials should be accountable. Democrats allege that manufacturers produced formaldehyde-infested trailers and ignored early warnings about possible health problems. Republicans cite a lack of industry standards and blame the oversight on government officials.
“It would be helpful to have a national standard for these kinds of products,” said Jim Shea, chairman of Gulf Stream Coach — the trailer manufacturer that received the bulk of the contracts to make trailers after Katrina, in an interview with the Associated Press. “The lack of such a standard leaves our industry with no clear guidance on the issue”

It is not clear who is right, but this is an awful blow to the manufactured housing industry. Katrina relief efforts offered a real opportunity for the manufactured housing industry to rebrand itself. The new products are livable homes. Affordable too.

Instead, these ‘toxic trailers’ reinforce traditional, negative ‘trailer park’ perspectives. The industry misfired, and so a new generation is now starting to think of manufactured homes as a substandard form of housing.

Also: it’s odd that HUD, which is formally in charge of manufactured housing, has kept quiet. Now FEMA is suddenly carrying the responsibility for safeguarding the industry’s reputation. Why should FEMA be out here?

It is good that this story delineates a distinction between travel trailers and mobile homes.  There is a big difference and often that detail is lost in media reports.  Still, the larger story is that this is yet another setback for the manufactured housing industry.

~ by Scott Y. on July 9, 2008.