Baja Calfiorna's governor says he's changed his mind. He will not use potentially toxic FEMA trailers left over from Hurricane Katrina to house people who lost their homes in the Mexicali earthquake.
A few days after the Easter Day earthquake, Baja California Governor Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan said he was working to get trailers FEMA used after Hurricane Katrina.
He touted the trailers' amenities and their capacity to house eight people.
Four years ago, the Sierra Club found that more than 80 percent of FEMA's Katrina trailers emit dangerous levels of formaldehyde. FEMA has since confirmed they're not safe to live in.
A recent story (Spanish) by KPBS and Tijuanapress.com pointed out the potential contamination, and questioned if these were the same trailers the Governor planned to give to people in the Mexicali Valley.
Two days later, Osuna Millan said he'd heard rumors the trailers were contaminated, but has three studies that show it's not an issue.
Even so, the governor said because of all the controversy he's decided to offer people prefabricated homes instead.
