The Uphill Battle To Better Regulate Formaldehyde

The Uphill Battle To Better Regulate Formaldehyde
POST SULPHUR, LA - MAY 28: Kailah Smith, 18 months, sleeps on a moldy couch caused by rain leaks in her parents' trailer as Kimber Smith (R) looks on just before the family moved out of the trailer in FEMA Diamond trailer park to an apartment May 28, 2008 in Port Sulphur, Louisiana. Kailah Smith's parents have had to hospitalize her four times with bronchitis since they moved into the trailer a year ago and they say they are sure the trailer is to blame for her illnesses. Doctors fear tens of thousands of children were exposed to dangerous levels of the cancer-causing agent formaldehyde in the post-Katrina FEMA trailers and could have lifelong illnesses. FEMA federal trailer parks that house many Hurricane Katrina victims are set to close May 31, prompting fears that people will be forced into residences they can't afford or will be left homeless. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
POST SULPHUR, LA - MAY 28: Kailah Smith, 18 months, sleeps on a moldy couch caused by rain leaks in her parents' trailer as Kimber Smith (R) looks on just before the family moved out of the trailer in FEMA Diamond trailer park to an apartment May 28, 2008 in Port Sulphur, Louisiana. Kailah Smith's parents have had to hospitalize her four times with bronchitis since they moved into the trailer a year ago and they say they are sure the trailer is to blame for her illnesses. Doctors fear tens of thousands of children were exposed to dangerous levels of the cancer-causing agent formaldehyde in the post-Katrina FEMA trailers and could have lifelong illnesses. FEMA federal trailer parks that house many Hurricane Katrina victims are set to close May 31, prompting fears that people will be forced into residences they can't afford or will be left homeless. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — A decade after emergency trailers meant to shelter Hurricane Katrina victims instead caused burning eyes, sore throats and other more serious ailments, the Environmental Protection Agency is on the verge of regulating the culprit: formaldehyde, a chemical that can be found in commonplace things like clothes and furniture.

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