Re: [CPEO-BIF] More news about Milwaukee affordable housing evacuated because of TCE vapor intrusion

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources is doing a great job of making correspondence and technical documents about this site available on the Web in real time. See

https://dnr.wi.gov/botw/GetActivityDetail.do?dsn=263675&siteId=670900&crumb=1

I am attaching the March 25 Evacuation Notice.

Indoor air sampling was conducted at the end of February, and the results were reported on March 23. I have attached a screenshot of the first floor sampling results.

The maximum reading for TCE, 400 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3), is the highest that I’ve ever seen in a residential building. It does not appear to be within an apartment, but a nearby apartment shows a level of 290 ug/m3. There are many other units with TCE above Wisconsin’s Residential Vapor Action Limit (2.1 ug/m3), and many more that were not sampled.

Lenny

On Mar 29, 2023, at 4:12 PM, Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org> wrote:

This is an important story because in many metropolitan areas the need for affordable (subsidized) housing is so great that poor people are being placed on properties where there is a potential for hazardous substance exposure. The high levels of TCE (a maximum of 400 micrograms per cubic meter) in this building make it a worst case.

https://www.wisn.com/article/dnr-says-it-warned-developers-to-wait-before-letting-residents-move-into-apartment-with-toxic-chemicals/43446590

https://www.wisn.com/article/dnr-recommended-residents-not-occupy-apartment-toxic-chemical-was-found/43445591

https://www.cbs58.com/news/i-dont-feel-safe-at-all-residents-wonder-whats-next-days-after-hazardous-chemical-forces-urgent-evacuation

https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/apartment-evacuation-residents-left-with-more-questions-after-meeting-with-developer-officials

https://www.fox6now.com/news/milwaukee-apartment-complex-chemical-concerns

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2023/03/28/dnr-unaware-community-within-the-corridor-apartments-were-occupied/70057026007/

Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources is doing a great job of making correspondence and data promptly available on the Web. I will be sharing some of that information. Note that folks subscribed to the Daily Digest will not see the attachments.

Lenny

Attachment: 20230325_99_CITY_OF_MILWAUKEE_ORDER_FOR_EVACUATION.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document

—

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org

Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)

_______________________________________________
Brownfields mailing list
Brownfields@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/brownfields-cpeo.org