An agency spokesperson said they understand the original lead violations that occurred over the winter are “no longer active.” The state Department of Housing is contracting with the management company to do a full lead assessment and determine next steps. And there are still several spots where moisture seeps into the building. Communication has been infrequent, union members said. While management has started work to cover the areas containing lead paint, tenants don’t think it’s enough. The local health department’s reports about toxic levels of lead surfaced during the winter. The 82-unit property opened its doors to tenants in 2020 after several years of renovations. This causes debris to constantly crumble near her son’s bed. A wall in Katy Slininger’s apartment at Cargill Falls Mill in Putnam is unsealed. Fleas have also migrated into her apartment from other units in recent weeks, biting her son, she said. Sometimes small bits of the wall flake off and fall on her 4-year-old’s toys, mixing with his toys or grinding into the carpet. Slininger had particular problems with moisture and crumbling pieces of walls and ceiling that fall in her home. “The role of NDDH in this response is to conduct investigations to identify lead hazards write orders to the property owner to remedy the problem and approve and monitor the plan for correction that is submitted to us.” “We are committed to … protect the health and well-being of the tenants of The Lofts at Cargill Falls Mill,” said Sue Starkey, NDDH Director of Health, in the statement. The local department initially found lead in a brick wall, baseboard, closet door and a wood floor filler. Several tenants in the lawsuit allege that elevated levels of lead were later found in their apartments. “We were obviously terrified, because we had no idea.”Ī January statement from the Northeast District Department of Health says letters noting the presence of lead and asking to schedule inspections went out to tenants in late December. “We weren’t getting any updates, any communication,” she said. Slininger said waiting for the test results from the health department was stressful for all the tenants. Putnam tenants say they are frustrated at the lack of communication from management and how long it took to get test results back from the local health department. If repairs aren’t made within 21 days, tenants can file a lawsuit, then pay rent to the court. Connecticut allows tenants to pay rent to the court, rather than to their landlord, in cases where city officials have determined the housing doesn’t meet certain living standards. They’re paying rent to the court following local health department inspections. Several of the tenants at the Putnam unit have formed a union and started a rent strike to protest conditions at the complex. “It’s insane that a young family can move into a newly renovated apartment in 2020 or 2021 and then have their baby suffer lead poisoning,” Camassar said. The amount of lead in dust that can remain after abatement would also be cut down under the proposal. Dust-lead hazard standards are used to determine when lead abatement is needed in buildings built before 1978. The proposal, announced in early July, would reduce the dust-lead hazard standards from 10 micrograms per square foot for floors and 100 micrograms for window sills to any reportable level greater than zero “in recognition of the fact that there is no level of lead in dust that has been found to be safe for children,” the Biden administration’s press release said.
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