Did CDC Agency Suppress FEMA Trailer Health Info?

Two House Science subcommittees are investigating allegations that the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a key federal agency for evaluating environmental health hazards, suppressed information on harmful levels of formaldehyde in FEMA trailers given out after Hurricane Katrina.

ATSDR, housed at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, is supposed to be an independent agency for evaluating chemical threats to communities. House investigators are probing allegations that ATSDR covered up the formaldehyde threat from FEMA trailers, and then retaliated against the scientist who warned of the problem. The story came out on CBS News Jan. 28, 2008.

• "CDC Suppressed Toxic Trailer Warnings," CBS News, Jan. 28, 2008, by Armen Keteyian.
• House Science Committee Press Release of Jan. 28, 2008.