Report: FEMA mishandled toxins in trailers

The Federal Emergency Management Agency didn't react quickly enough to reports of toxins in trailers housing victims of Hurricane Katrina, endangering the health of thousands of victims across the Gulf Coast, according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General. The 79-page report released Thursday is the first detailed accounting by Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, of the way the emergency agency handled reports of formaldehyde in temporary trailers housing Katrina victims. Many of those victims reported bloody noses, blackouts, headaches and other more severe problems due to formaldehyde, a colorless, strong-smelling gas often produced in the manufacture of building materials and classified as a carcinogen. "FEMA did not display a degree of urgency in reacting to the reported formaldehyde problem, a problem that could pose a significant health risk to people who were relying on FEMA's programs," the report read. Other findings include: