Katrina trailers may pose health risk

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss., May 17 (UPI) -- Doctors said thousands of people living in U.S. government-provided trailers since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast are at risk for health problems.

Angela Orcutt and her young son, Nicky, moved into a travel trailer provided by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency after Hurricane Katrina struck Bay St. Louis, Miss., in August 2005, CBS News reported.

Orcutt told CBS that her son has been sick with "pretty much ... constant coughing."

Pediatrician Dr. Scott Needle noticed that many of his patients, including Nicky, had the same recurring symptoms, which included coughing, burning eyes and sinus infections, CBS reported.

"Every one of them said you know, we are living in a FEMA trailer. And not only that, but you know, little Johnny wasn't having these problems before we moved into that trailer," Needle told CBS.

CBS reported that 86,000 families are living in the travel trailers, which have floors and cabinets made of boards containing formaldehyde. The chemical gives off toxic fumes in hot, humid weather, CBS said.