No paint lead was found in student rooms or in the floor kitchens in the complex.

According to Director for Environmental Health and Safety Cecile Mars, “Lead paint in good condition is not a hazard ... in order for lead to be a hazard, you must eat it or breathe it. Renovations make it airborne.”

For this reason, extra precautions will be made when work is done on the apartments.

Lead poisoning poses the largest threat to pregnant women, infants, and young children.

Children and fetuses absorb lead faster than adults and it can affect their developing brain and nervous system.

Although the lead paint poses a minimal health risk to adults, residents are still upset because even though the Institute knew about the paint since July 26, residents were just recently informed of its presence.  

According to the EPA, landlords are required to inform tenants each time that the residents sign a new contract of any changes in the dwelling, including the presence of lead-based paint. By law, Residence Life was within its legal rights to not inform residence of the paint until squatting. However, residents feel that they should have been told earlier.

Colonie resident Matthew Giacomazzo admits that the paint is “not a major health risk, but residents still should have been told.” He agrees that the Institute was “legally clear, but they screwed up on moral grounds.”

Sera Galvin, also a Colonie resident, echoed Giacomazzo. She doesn’t think that it would have been that much trouble to inform residents sooner.

Peter Snyder, director of residence life, admits that it “looks like feet were dragged, but it was such a minimal risk and room sign up was a perfect time [to inform residents].”

The lapse in receiving the results and informing residents was spent researching the issue and writing to other colleges to see how they dealt with the situation. “Some [colleges] didn’t even disclose it,” said Snyder.

Residents looking to live in Colonie Apartments next year will be informed of the presence of lead paint when they sign contracts.

Another environmental concern affecting RPI on-campus residents is asbestos. Like lead paint, asbestos in good condition is not a risk to people, according to the EPA. Over time, however, inhaling asbestos has been linked to asbestosis and lung cancer. 

This summer renovation plans will be underway in freshman residences Bray and Cary.

Renovations to Cary Hall will remove ceiling tiles that may contain asbestos.

The work would have displaced forty students, so it will be completed over the summer.

Snyder said the school is committed to student safety, and that residents are not in any danger of exposure to the asbestos.

Other work includes installing two bathrooms on each floor, and turning the existing floor bathrooms into a lounge. These changes will make RPI’s last all-male residence hall, Cary Hall, co-ed. The work is slated to be complete for new students arriving in the fall.