N.C. wants answers on formaldehyde in manufactured homes, classrooms

In response to the federal government's findings of dangerously high formaldehyde levels in manufactured homes provided to families displaced by Hurricane Katrina, North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley sent a letter yesterday to the head of the state Manufactured Housing Institute seeking more information about the units' safety. Easley also asked the state Board of Education to to check the portable classroom buildings used by many school systems to ensure they are safe from toxic fumes. There's clearly cause for concern: A 1999 study [PDF] by the Environmental Working Group of air quality in California's portable classrooms found problems with volatile organic compounds including formaldehyde, benzene and toluene, as well as toxic molds.