After Katrina, FEMA gave the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) a couple hundred million dollars to provide “Mississippi Cottages” as replacements for the infamous FEMA trailers. From what I can tell, the Mississippi Cottages are single-wide mobile homes prettied up a little to resemble a cottage. Just recently it’s come out that testing of the air in the cottages has revealed that a high level of formaldehyde is present there too. While it’s not as high as that in the trailers, it does exceed the amount of formaldehyde that the EPA calls dangerous.

Unfortunately, the level of formaldehyde in these cottages probably isn’t much higher than what you would find if you tested any conventional newly constructed home. Since these cottages are only around 700 sq. ft., a typical new home would probably allow the formaldehyde to dissipate a little more due to the larger volume of air. But the same amount would probably be outgassed into the air by the large amounts of plywood and particleboard used in cabinetry and in furniture these days.

Plywood, particleboard and medium density fibreboard (MDF) are made from sheets or pieces of wood glued together with urea formaldehyde glue. Other coutries have set limits on the amount of formaldehyde that can be emitted from these and other products, but the US has no such laws. So unless a newer house is specifically built as “non-toxic” or perhaps “green” (the latter sometimes only focusing on energy efficiency, which can make the problem worse by not allowing the gasses to dissipate), chance are there is an unhealthy amount of formaldehyde lingering in the air.

Over the course of years (how many is up for debate) the formaldehyde will completely dissipate, so older houses that have not seen recent renovation don’t have the problem. The solution? Use only solid wood or one of the newer (more expensive) forms of plywood, particleboard etc. that use non-toxic glues for all interior cabinetry and furniture. The exterior plywood used to build actual houses uses less formaldehyde than the interior versions and is probably ok unless you’re already sick from prior exposure.

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