'I don't feel safe at all': Residents wonder what's next days after hazardous chemical forces urgent evacuation

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- State and local agencies reported the developers of a Milwaukee apartment complex knew of a possible health hazard for nearly two years.

The City of Milwaukee Health Department ordered for more than 150 people to be urgently evacuated from the east block of Community Within the Corridor (CWC) apartments on Saturday after learning of high levels of trichloroethylene (TCE). 

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reported the agency wasn't made aware of test results from indoor air samples taken by CWC in February until Thursday, March 23 at 7 p.m. 

"The levels were significantly above established health levels," Christine Sieger, the director of the DNR's Remediation and Redevelopment Program, said.

The DNR then shared those results with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and MHD.

High TCE vapor levels increase health risks, including cancer, according to DHS. 

Sieger said vapor intrusion had been a significant concern since developers first reported their intention to turn the former industrial manufacturing facility into a residential building in August 2020.

At the time, TCE was found in the soil and air beneath the building near 32nd and Center Street, which can create sub-slab vapor, according to the DNR.

Sieger said developers proposed a mitigation system. DNR approved but advised the building should not be occupied until the mitigation efforts proved successful. 

"The DNR had strongly recommended in writing, a number of times, that the developers wait to have the building occupied," Sieger said.

Developers didn't follow the DNR's recommendation and received temporary occupancy permits from Milwaukee's Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) in July and December 2022. 

"The department was unaware of any of the ongoing investigation or levels of any potential hazards within the building," DNS Commissioner Erica Roberts said. 

The DNR said it didn't know people were living in the building until March 20, 2023. 

"The DNR has not had to work with this kind of situation previously, in that our recommendations are typically implemented by the party responsible for the contamination," Sieger said.

A statement on behalf of CWC said it intends to get residents back to their homes as soon as possible by using the vapor mitigation system. 

The CWC statement said four of 56 units showed higher than expected TCE levels.

"The system was tested prior to residents taking occupancy, and all tests indicated this system was working correctly and thus was considered to be safe for residents to move in," the CWC statement said. "We are working with a third-party environmental engineering and remediation team that is addressing the underlying issues, and work will be ongoing until they are resolved."

Some residents told CBS 58 they feel lied to after learning developers knew of the possible health hazard and didn't say anything to them. 

"The feeling of devastation, a feeling of disrespect," Bridgett Wilder, a displaced resident, said.

Displaced residents told CBS 58 they're staying in a hotel on the other side of the city and don't know when they'll be allowed to return home.

"Where are we going to be located?" Matrix Martinez, a displaced resident, said. "I was mad because I'm far away from work now, like an hour and 12 minutes, just to drive, of the city bus."

Some people said they will no longer feel safe in that building. 

"I don't feel safe at all," Christa Bishop, a displaced resident, said. "If this is something that is so toxic, why would y'all risk families' health in danger for money?"

One displaced resident told CBS 58 they did not get the answers they were looking for after a closed meeting on Tuesday.