When it rains, red paint chips wash down from the candelabra tower on TV Hill and onto the streets, a nearby daycare and people’s backyards in the Woodberry neighborhood.

Residents first started seeing the chips, some of which have tested positive for lead, last month around the neighborhood and began raising concerns. One resident even tested a chip for lead herself. And then, state inspectors also detected lead — prompting a state-approved remediation plan to be put in place. Cleanup efforts began about a week after the city issued a cease-and-desist order to power-washing activities at the tower.

But residents say the actions have fallen short, and on Wednesday, some sent their own remediation plan to city and state officials, TV stations and Television Tower Inc., the company that owns the towers, asking for a response by the end of the week.

The towers have broadcast WJZ-TV, WBAL-TV and WMAR-TV since 1959. Skyline Painting, a Nebraska-based company, was power-washing the tower and about to begin repainting it when the state detected lead in the paint.

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“The TV stations had every opportunity to notify every property owner and resident about the presence of lead, about the dangers of lead,” said Jessica Meyer, president of the Woodberry Community Association. “They could also provide more details about how to keep the household safe and the importance of having children tested.”

Woodberry residents want a more transparent and thorough inspection and cleanup efforts and are also calling for increased outreach, rather than asking residents to self-report lead issues.

A spokesperson from the state environment department said they are reviewing the residents’ plan to determine what additional steps may be needed. State officials met with Television Tower Inc. on June 23, notifying the company that the cleanup would require an accredited lead paint abatement contractor. The television company submitted a plan on June 27. So far, 35 properties have undergone the cleanup process, or currently have it underway. A couple residents have said they still found some lead chips on their properties following the cleanup, though.

Television Tower Inc. told The Baltimore Banner the company is committed to implementing its mitigation plan, but did not comment on the community’s requests. Officials from the city and the WBAL, WMAR and WJZ television stations did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

Television Tower representatives shared a summary of their cleanup plans at a neighborhood meeting on July 12. They hired A&I Environmental Services Inc., which will remove the paint chips, and Advanced Air Analysis Inc., a state environment department accredited lead risk assessor, to inspect the areas before and after the cleanup.

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The company included a list of priorities. Places where children are frequently present, such as daycares, playgrounds and parks, were on the first tier of remediation efforts. Houses, group homes and commercial buildings were next on the list of priorities, while cleanups of roofs, public streets and sidewalks were last.

Residents can request inspection and cleanup by phone or email. The cleanup is estimated to end by Aug. 1 and there will be an update from the state on a community meeting next week, Meyer said.

Meyer complained that the pace and scale of the plan felt inadequate and put too much of the responsibility on residents to report problems.

“In a neighborhood of 1,500 residents, it’s inadequate to expect each person to call and report,” Meyer said. “It is incumbent upon the people who created the mess to take a larger responsibility and role in litigation.”

The community rectifying plan criticizes the TV stations for being “silent” since lead was detected on the paint chips. The television tower company mailed out flyers, but the information wasn’t enough, the plan read.

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The community members in their remediation plan called for the state environment department and the city to be more involved with outreach, especially on the presence, dangers and effect of lead, as well as how to request professional mitigation and the importance on testing children for elevated blood lead levels. It also asks the state environment department to widely distribute flyers and pamphlets on the dangers of lead paint, like the ones that were “selectively given out” at a public meeting.

Residents also want city council members to look into adding signs of potential lead hazards at playgrounds and other places where children tend to be.

Right now, A&I has less than a dozen workers on the ground, according to the plan.

“This is not a meaningful response to hundreds of homes, and miles of pavement, sidewalks, soil and vegetation,” the plan read. “We need to see an actual, functional response, people who can clean the streets and sidewalks and other public high traffic areas while the properties are being cleaned.”

Residents also want to see a door-to-door approach, where cleaning crews and inspectors “systematically” visit homes that haven’t reached out to them and leave information. Lastly, their plan calls for Television Tower Inc. to conduct an internal investigation with the city, the state environment department and the TV stations.

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“The tower is painted every 8-10 years and TTI currently needs to finish the job so carelessly started,” the plan reads. “The community needs and deserves proper assurances that measures will be put in place to safeguard against similar disasters and ensure that future work on the tower is compliant with all state and local laws.”

When the state announced that lead had been detected on the paint chips, Meyer was angry. Others rushed to test their children, with many unsure on what was to come. The neighborhood association was quick to organize themselves, but there’s only so much they can do, Meyer said.

“The neighborhood association does not have the same level of resources that a television station … has available to them,” she said. “So while we do have some ability to communicate with our neighbors, we don’t feel adequately prepared to respond to a disaster of this magnitude.”

clara.longo@thebaltimorebanner.com

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Clara Longo de Freitas is a neighborhood reporter covering East Baltimore communities. Before joining the Banner, she interned at The Baltimore Sun as an emerging news and community reporter. She also has design and illustration experience with several news organizations, including The Hill and NPR. 

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