Community within the Corridor owners rented units in both wings before carcinogen testing
The developers of a Milwaukee affordable housing complex failed to complete state-recommended testing for a cancer-causing chemical before moving residents into both sections of the development, public records show.
Under an order by the state Department of Natural Resources, residents in the West Block were notified in December of exposure to trichloroethylene or TCE, a known carcinogen, in their building. Three months later, residents of the development's East Block were evacuated when testing revealed 200 times the residential limit for TCE set by the DNR.
Developers of Community within the Corridor opened the first portion of their housing complex ― the West Block― to residents last July before completing testing that showed that clean-up efforts at the site had been successful. Ultimately, TCE testing did not show levels that required an evacuation in that block.
Still, concerns about residents living in the contaminated West Block prompted state officials to investigate the larger complex. They discovered people were living in another section of the complex ― East Block ― with dangerous levels of the carcinogen in March.
Local officials had been aware that residents were living in a dangerous site since January.
Community within the Corridor, built on a former Briggs & Stratton factory at North 31st and West Center Streets, was supposed to be the largest affordable housing development in Wisconsin’s history.
Developers, Que El-Amin, a Milwaukee native, and Minnesota-based Roers Cos., have been scrambling for much of the year to make the site environmentally safe after state and local officials forced them to take emergency action.
Mitigation efforts at the West Block have been successful and recent testing data shows TCE levels within safe limits.
What is TCE?
TCE is an industrial solvent that was commonly used through the 1990s. Since 2000, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has listed TCE as a known carcinogen.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exposure to TCE can cause short and long-term health effects, including headaches, dizziness, sleepiness, damage to the immune and nervous systems, liver damage, and death. TCE can also present concerns for fetal development and has been linked to cardiac birth defects.
How do you clean it up?
In Wisconsin, developers are first required to notify the DNR of a hazardous substance at a site they plan to develop. The developers then work with the DNR to create a clean-up plan that the DNR eventually approves.
According to DNR Remediation and Redevelopment Program Director Christine Sieger, these plans generally include a set of three tests to confirm that the clean-up efforts had been successful.
Generally, one or two of these tests occur in fall or winter months since residents are more likely to use their furnaces in colder months and have their windows closed. Furnace heat can also vaporize TCE thus making infiltration from the chemical more likely in the winter.
“This set is an industry standard that is followed by 99% of developers before they move-in residents,” Sieger told the Journal Sentinel.
Did CWC developers follow this standard at the West Block?
No.
In March 2021, the DNR was notified of a TCE issue at the West Block. Developers then sent a remediation and testing plan in early May, which the DNR rejected.
According to communications between DNR official Jane Pfeiffer and the developers, she rejected the original plan for the site because developers planned on moving in residents after the completion of one round of testing.
Pfeiffer wrote that the DNR “recommends that all three rounds of (testing) occur prior to occupancy to demonstrate that the building conditions are safe for the human components.”
After revising their plans, CWC officials began testing on June 1. But instead of waiting to complete all three rounds of testing, the building opened for residents in early July.
Results of the first round of testing showed no issues with TCE in June.
However, results from the second round of testing, which took place in September, showed elevated levels of TCE in three communal spaces in the West Block. The DNR received this data in November as well as another set of data on Nov. 23, which also showed exceedances.
The highest reading in the West Block was 2.7 micrograms per cubic meter which is 0.6 micrograms higher than the residential limit for TCE.
After receiving this data, Pfeiffer told developers on Nov. 29 that per state statute they must notify residents of the exceedances by Dec. 6.
In response, K. Singh's representatives said they disagreed with Pfeiffer's assessment of the issue in December. Pfeiffer then told developers on Dec. 2 that they must comply with her recommendations.
Developers then sent out a letter on Dec. 6 informing residents of elevated levels of TCE in their apartment buildings.
"Community within the Corridor’s West Block building has consistently met the state DNR’s standards for air quality within residential apartments," CWC spokesperson Phill Trewyn wrote to the Journal Sentinel in a statement. "In total, five rounds of commissioning testing in the building have been completed to date and none have resulted in exceedances inside an apartment."
What has happened since December?
Since December, the developer has been working to monitor the site and address potential contributors to the TCE spikes in the apartment building.
The Milwaukee Health Department and Department of Neighborhood Services met with the state’s Department of Natural Resources and Department of Health Services on Jan. 12 to discuss public health and environmental concerns.
According to Nick Tomaro, MHD emergency preparedness environmental health director, the impetus for the meeting was occupancy in the West Block.
At that point, the state and city were both aware of residents in the West Block of the development. However, the state was not aware that residents were living in the East Block.
Tomaro told the Journal Sentinel that after residents had been moved into the West Block before the completion of recommended testing, officials met in January so that they could ensure that no one moved into the East Block before testing was completed in that wing of the building.
On March 25, after the state received the first round of testing at the East Block, the Milwaukee Health Department was forced to issue an evacuation order for the East Block forcing 150 low-income residents out of their homes.
In mid-June, CWC moved to terminate the leases of residents which led some of them to file a class-action lawsuit against the developers.
Prior reporting from the Journal Sentinel has laid out how from December to February a growing number of city officials in the Department of Neighborhood Services became aware that people were living in the East Block but did not tell their partners at the state and local level.
About Public Investigator
Government corruption. Corporate wrongdoing. Consumer complaints. Medical scams. Public Investigator is a new initiative of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and its sister newsrooms across Wisconsin. Our team wants to hear your tips, chase the leads and uncover the truth. We'll investigate anywhere in Wisconsin. Send your tips to watchdog@journalsentinel.com or Signal at 414-319-9061. You can also submit tips at jsonline.com/tips.
THANK YOU: Subscribers' support makes this work possible. Help us share the knowledge by buying a gift subscription.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Unevacuated half of Community within the Corridor also had TCE issues
