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MEGHA SATYANARAYANA
Sun Herald
June 9, 2008
For nearly two-and-a-half years, the seven-member Huckabee family has lived in FEMA trailers. Katrina flooded their Pass Christian apartment, and by the time they were finally allowed to return, mold had ruined their belongings.
Soon they moved into a FEMA trailer and tried to save money. With five children, ranging from toddler to teen, it was time for a home. But after moving into a FEMA mobile home, the Huckabee children became ill. The Sierra Club tested the trailer and found it to have high levels of formaldehyde, a possible carcinogen used in building products.
The Huckabees moved into a new trailer, which also had high levels of formaldehyde, though lower than the first.
Nearly three years after the storm, they are no closer to their goal. The Huckabees now live in a hotel in Diamondhead, sent there by FEMA on federal recommendations to get people out of trailers and mobile homes.
Their savings are drained. First, there are thousands in medical bills. The Huckabees believe formaldehyde levels played a role in their almost-constant sickness. Then there are thousands lost in buying and clearing a piece of property mistakenly approved for subdivision. The Huckabees had planned to put a Mississippi Cottage on the property while they worked on building a new home.
"It's hard for me that we've ended up here, because we both work," said Lindsay Huckabee. "We thought we were doing everything we should to get something and it all just backfired."
Now the Huckabees are putting their Mississippi Cottage in a trailer park in Orange Grove. It's a concession, said Steve. The park is supposedly safe and sits within decent driving range to the children's schools and after-school activities. It's not too far to the Hollywood Casino in Bay St. Louis, where Steve is a surveillance technician. Lindsay's job at Waffle House is close, as well.
As FEMA has phased out trailers and mobile homes, Mississippi Cottages have become an attractive option. Of the 26 items on the Harrison County Planning Commission's May meeting agenda, half were permit applications for the homes.
The Sierra Club has started testing for high formaldehyde levels in cottages. They are pushing the government to adopt stricter standards for the gas in building products, which at high levels causes respiratory problems and nose bleeds.
MEMA Executive Director Mike Womack said Mississippi Cottages sitting in the heat unused will have higher levels of formaldehyde. He also suggested that without testing homes and other buildings with wood products that use formaldehyde, testing cottages will prove little. Sensitive people will feel effects at levels well below certain standards, and healthier people may feel no effects at high levels.
MEMA is almost out of new cottages. Those wanting one will have to wait until someone has moved out to get a used one. Once a person is in a Mississippi Cottage, they are under MEMA jurisdiction and no longer eligible for FEMA assistance. He said MEMA plans to test the cottages, but is still developing their protocol based on Housing and Urban Development protocols. Should a cottage be found to have high levels of formaldehyde, there is no plan to move people to new units or other housing, Womack said.
"We're their landlord. We'll try to do everything possible to make sure their stay in a cottage is safe and enjoyable," he said.
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