State sues TV stations over lead paint violations
When workers went to remediate the 1,000-foot tall candelabra tower on Baltimore’s Television Hill in May 2022, the lead paint chips fell like rain in the surrounding neighborhood.
The red scrapings, which pose a threat to public health, especially for children, were found at a day care, a playground and homes within a half-mile radius of the iconic tower.
Now the Maryland Department of the Environment and Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office are suing the tower’s owners, along with an unaccredited paint company, for an alleged failure to provide proper lead abatement services, causing the surrounding neighborhoods to be exposed to the harmful paint chips.
One defendant, an entity known as Television Tower Inc., or TTI, is a conglomerate formed by Baltimore TV stations WJZ, WMAR and WBAL.
The stations, according to the complaint filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court, hired Nebraska-based Skyline Tower Painting Inc. to remediate the tower for repainting. However, when workers began removing the paint, they did so without a proper collection method, the complaint says. As a result, lead paint dust and chips fell over an area that includes four census tracts defined as “underserved communities” under state law.
In addition to the tower painting company, which is also listed as a defendant, none of the three TV news stations responded to a request for comment. The defendants did not have attorneys listed in court records Monday afternoon.
Lead paint chips, the leading cause of lead exposure in children, can cause irreversible damage to children ages 6 and under.
When lead is absorbed into the body, it can cause behavioral issues, learning disabilities and seizures. High levels of exposure can cause organ and nerve damage.
Remediation work on the tower halted in June 2022 when the state environment department first received a complaint about the paint fragments.
Nonetheless, paint chips continue to fall because the tower has not been properly contained, according to the complaint. MDE is awaiting results from soil sample tests in order to assess the level of lead contamination in the surrounding communities.
“We cannot have industrial contractors risk public health in large swaths of Maryland communities by conducting unsafe lead abatement projects by untrained, unaccredited workers,” Brown said in a news release announcing the lawsuit. “In this case, lead literally rained down on thousands of people, including children.”
As part of its lawsuit, MDE is asking a judge to issue an injunction [a type of court order that compels one party to do something] forcing the tower owners to stabilize and contain it in order to prevent additional paint chips from being released.
“This enforcement action assigns accountability for the health hazards that were literally cast upon a community and its children,” said Environment Secretary Serena C. McIlwain.
In addition to the injunctive relief, Maryland authorities are seeking fines against the TV news stations and the paint company. The state is seeking daily fines of up to $10,000 for illegal dumping and a $25,000 for hazardous waste violations.