HUD housing on Blackfeet reservation shows health hazards

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HUD housing on Blackfeet reservation shows health hazards

Part two of a three-part series

Posted: April 08, 2002 - 7:00AM EST

by: Ron Selden / Indian Country Today

Blackfeet Indian Reservation resident Candace LaMott points to wooden

basement walls in her federally funded home outside Browning. Structural

problems are causing floorboards to buckle, doors to go off kilter and walls

to crack.

BROWNING, Mont. -- Residents of 153 government homes built with wooden

foundations on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation say they're concerned the

structures are causing an array of health problems.

They are also upset that some of the homes, built in the late 1970s and

early 1980s with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development, are pulling apart because the foundations, supposedly

guaranteed for 50 years, are structurally inadequate.

The wood foundations are treated with chromated copper arsenate, or CCA,

which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now wants out of the

marketplace because of health concerns. Some of the homes are plagued with

toxic mold and mildew, caused in part by leaky foundations that have not

held up in the reservation's unforgiving climate.

Reservation residents formed the Glacier Homes Committee last year to

persuade HUD, the Blackfeet Housing Authority, and the Blackfeet Tribal

Business Council to seek funding for repairs where feasible and provide new

homes on unmortgaged land to residents living in the worst dwellings. Tribal

officials say they're willing to work with HUD to resolve the problems, but

so far help has been slow in coming.

Grant, one of the committee founders, says he and his wife, , are

convinced that at least some of their family's considerable health problems

can be attributed to their house, which they're buying as part of HUD's

" mutual self-help " program.

" We were so glad to get a home, " said Grant. " It was a dream home, and

I thought we'd live there until we die. Now I wake up every morning with a

headache. "

In February, EPA announced that manufacturers of CCA-treated wood would

voluntarily phase out of the product by 2004. New residential uses of the

wood, including decks, play structures, fencing and landscaping timbers, are

to be banned at that time, primarily because of the arsenic, a known

carcinogen.

Testing by a New Mexico firm of five of the Blackfeet homes in January

documented high levels of arsenic in the treated wood, but an ensuing report

downplays health dangers.

" The main issue with this arsenic source is direct contact with the wood, "

the report said. " Skin irritation can occur, and arsenic can be absorbed

through the skin. Inhalation and ingestion of arsenic is not anticipated,

because the arsenic is bound up with the wood itself and would not be

expected to escape into the atmosphere. "

Still, residents are wary about doing any remodeling or repairs in the homes

because EPA has issued warnings about sanding, sawing, or otherwise

disturbing the treated wood. Mr. Grant notes that the new Headstart

playground in Browning is also built with lumber pressure-treated with CCA.

The $14,000 study, paid for by the housing authority, also turned up

extensive mold and mildew problems.

" The contaminants of most concern are the molds, which may be associated

with the respiratory problems reported by residents, " the report said. " Many

of the molds detected have the potential to become allergens, " which can

trigger health problems. The report emphasizes, however, that more intensive

study is needed.

Reservation residents late last year sought advice from Billings attorney

Jeff Simkovic, who also has a master's degree in public health

administration. Simkovic confirms he has been preparing for a potential

lawsuit over the housing problems, but he told a recent meeting of

homeowners and tribal leaders in Browning that it would be preferable to

resolve the issues without a court fight.

" We have a bunch of home-owners who feel that the tribe has shafted them, "

said Simkovic, who told tribal leaders he's willing to help them find

funding for a full-blown health study. " They don't know if they have a safe

house. No one does. I'd rather not sue the tribe, because it's better to

work with them (and HUD). There's no reason for a lawsuit, but they could

force one. "

Next time: Decades of controversy.