Letter to the Editor: Lead, asbestos, infestations...enough is enough!

I look at the ways in which the University has decided to spend its money and seriously wonder about the University’s priorities.

Right now, as a resident of Redbud Hills Apartments, I am living with lead, asbestos and cockroaches — “a possible infestation,” as the housing management calls it.

Before signing my contract with IU, I was not notified about any of these health risks. Only after I had signed my housing contract did I receive a notice and a link to sign a lead paint agreement.

This lead paint document notifies me that there is lead in the bathtub, in the parking lot, by the dumpsters, in the laundry room and any steel columns colored brown, gray or orange. There are areas of my apartment that aren’t even listed as being tested for lead, so the document leaves me wondering if the University is even aware of all of the potential lead sources within each Redbud facility.

This is something I would have been happy to know before I signed a year-long housing contract with the University. I have refused to sign the agreement. It is a small sign of protest against a University that spends its money refurbishing sidewalks and building fountains when there are large numbers of residents living with lead paint.
Imagine my surprise when on Friday I was greeted by a maintenance man inspecting the pipe wrappings in my room. It turns out many pipe wrappings all across Redbud contain asbestos.

To my knowledge, no resident has been notified of the asbestos.
How can the University fail to warn its residents that they are living with a known carcinogen? I was given minimal guarantees by the maintenance man that the University was doing everything it could to minimize the spread of asbestos dust onto my belongings and bedding during the pipe wrapping procedure.

I imagine many Redbud residents will have no idea their rooms could become contaminated with asbestos residue following the “routine” pipe maintenance. 

The asbestos issue hits close to home. More than 10 years ago, my grandfather died from cancer. Some in my family suspect his death might have been due to a job in which he was contracted to remove asbestos from an old public school building.
The University might find itself in a similar situation if it continues to neglect and endanger the lives of its students.

Years from now, as students grow up and move away from Bloomington, the effects of asbestos and lead might linger.

So I ask, what is the University doing now to ensure the future health of its students? What reassurances can the University give me that I will be unaffected by the carcinogens lurking in my apartment?

And most importantly, how can I trust University officials when there has been consistent non-disclosure about the health hazards present in Redbud?
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— Ardea Smith is a graduate student  studying  library and information science.