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Lawsuit filed against owner of Baltimore broadcast tower and its painting contractor over lead paint
Lawsuit filed against owner of Baltimore broadcast tower and its painting contractor over lead paint chips
In Featured News by Wireless Estimator May 10, 2023
The complaint seeks financial penalties of up to $25,000 per day for lead accreditation, lead abatement performance, and hazardous waste violations and up to $10,000 per day for solid waste, open dumping, and nuisance creation violations.
Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain and Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown have filed a lawsuit against Television Tower Inc., the owner of the tower on Baltimore’s Television Hill, and Skyline Tower Painting Inc. for alleged violations of Maryland law that led to lead paint chips raining down on the surrounding communities.
Although a complete mapping has not been made of where the lead-based paint chips could have fallen, neighbors identified locations at least 1,000-feet from the 997-foot tower. Winds when the tower was being prepped peaked at 15mph.
The complaint, filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court, describes a project to remove lead paint from the iconic “candelabra” television tower that was carried out with little-to-no containment methods by an unaccredited contractor. The complaint describes the health hazards that lead paint exposure presents to young children, and it states: “Areas that paint scrapings were found include a child daycare center, a local playground and park, a college athletic field, and various residences as far as one-half mile away.” ... “This enforcement action assigns accountability for the health hazards that were literally cast upon a community and its children,” said Secretary McIlwain. “The Maryland Department of the Environment is committed to protecting children across the state, and especially those in underserved communities, from the dangers of lead-based paint.”
The complaint names as defendants Television Tower Inc. (TTI), an entity formed by Baltimore television broadcasting companies WJZ-TV, WBAL-TV, and WMAR-TV, and Skyline Tower Painting Inc. It alleges that in May 2022, TTI, knowing the 1,000-foot tower that it owns contained lead-based paint, hired Skyline, which was not accredited to provide lead abatement services in Maryland, to repaint the tower. ... Skyline removed lead paint from the tower by scraping and hydroblasting with minimal controls, the complaint alleges. The force of the hydroblasting and high winds at the height of the tower caused the spread of lead paint dust and chips to spread as far as half a mile, an area that includes four census tracts defined under state law as underserved communities.
{snip}
In Featured News by Wireless Estimator May 10, 2023
The complaint seeks financial penalties of up to $25,000 per day for lead accreditation, lead abatement performance, and hazardous waste violations and up to $10,000 per day for solid waste, open dumping, and nuisance creation violations.
Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain and Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown have filed a lawsuit against Television Tower Inc., the owner of the tower on Baltimore’s Television Hill, and Skyline Tower Painting Inc. for alleged violations of Maryland law that led to lead paint chips raining down on the surrounding communities.
Although a complete mapping has not been made of where the lead-based paint chips could have fallen, neighbors identified locations at least 1,000-feet from the 997-foot tower. Winds when the tower was being prepped peaked at 15mph.
The complaint, filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court, describes a project to remove lead paint from the iconic “candelabra” television tower that was carried out with little-to-no containment methods by an unaccredited contractor. The complaint describes the health hazards that lead paint exposure presents to young children, and it states: “Areas that paint scrapings were found include a child daycare center, a local playground and park, a college athletic field, and various residences as far as one-half mile away.” ... “This enforcement action assigns accountability for the health hazards that were literally cast upon a community and its children,” said Secretary McIlwain. “The Maryland Department of the Environment is committed to protecting children across the state, and especially those in underserved communities, from the dangers of lead-based paint.”
The complaint names as defendants Television Tower Inc. (TTI), an entity formed by Baltimore television broadcasting companies WJZ-TV, WBAL-TV, and WMAR-TV, and Skyline Tower Painting Inc. It alleges that in May 2022, TTI, knowing the 1,000-foot tower that it owns contained lead-based paint, hired Skyline, which was not accredited to provide lead abatement services in Maryland, to repaint the tower. ... Skyline removed lead paint from the tower by scraping and hydroblasting with minimal controls, the complaint alleges. The force of the hydroblasting and high winds at the height of the tower caused the spread of lead paint dust and chips to spread as far as half a mile, an area that includes four census tracts defined under state law as underserved communities.
{snip}