(WHAS11) - Three years ago the Stinson family bought their new mobile home in Mauckport, Indiana thinking it would be a place where they could raise their 4-year-old adopted daughter Katina.
“We were told it was bought in a FEMA auction and it tested clear of formaldehyde,” said Sharon Stinson.
Formaldehyde, which is a chemical, found at high levels can be extremely dangerous to humans.
“As soon as we moved in our health started going right down,” said Stinson.
Sharon, her husband John and their daughter Katina started having problems, including bronchitis, allergies, kidney disease and stomach aches.
“It typically isn’t a problem because it’s used in the manufacturing of mobile homes and things like that,” said Tony Combs, the Harrison County Health Department’s administrator. “But it usually off-gases fairly quickly and gets down to levels that are safe.”
Formaldehyde normally will be at 0.03 per million parts in the air. Sharon tested her daughter’s room and sent the test to a lab - the results were more than double the normal rate.
Wednesday, Stinson took her daughter to the emergency room after she was complaining of stomach aches.
“I took her there, they couldn’t find anything,” said Stinson. “They said because of the formaldehyde she is not to come back to the house, because when she is out of it she is okay. When you take her in, she’s bad. She is not to come back to this home.”
Now the Stinson’s are living in a Super 8 hotel room until they find a place to live where they won't get sick.
The company who sold the mobile home to the Stinson family tells WHAS they bought the mobile home at a FEMA auction.
The Indiana State Department of Health will do testing of the mobile home next week to determine if the home is safe or not.
