The Return of the Embalmed RV

About a month ago we ran a piece regarding alleged high levels of formaldehyde in FEMA commissioned RVs sent for Katrina disaster relief. In that story we said, "The question for all of us could be: What levels of formaldehyde are present in regular production line RV models? Have you ever had your RV tested?" Our questions got plenty of backlash. Mind you, the story was primarily directed to disaster relief trailers.

Interestingly, ABC News found the FEMA-Formaldehyde issue big enough to take on for the rest of the RV industry. In their story, Embalmed in Your RV: Formaldehyde Poisons Vacationers, ABC investigated the story of an RVer who bought an off-the-line Cougar RV from manufacturer Keystone. The RVer, Marvin Motes, said that on a trip he and his wife began to develop odd symptoms. When they heard about the formaldehyde issues on FEMA trailers, the Motes made the mental connection.

After testing their rig, the Motes found the levels of formaldehyde in their trailer at .42 and .37 parts per million, well above the .10 parts per million level where the Environmental Protection Agency says "acute health effects can occur." When the Motes took their problems to the dealer where they bought their RV, they say the dealer was unwilling to help them. A couple of RV consumer organizations were interviewed about the formaldehyde issue in the story, and the whole item makes an interesting read. Check out the ABC story here.

While the ABC News story mentions a Sierra Club website where folks can comment on formaldehyde experiences in RVs, no link is given. We checked with the Sierra Club and found that Becky Gillette, a Mississippi chapter club official has begun her own blog on the subject. You can access it through this link.