Toxic chemicals, including chloroform and benzene, were found in the basement of an Over-the-Rhine low-income housing complex in 2023. Some of these buildings on Back and Hamer streets housed laundry and dry-cleaning operations decades ago.
The discovery came as part of a lawsuit filed by former tenants of Preservation of Affordable Housing, or POAH, who accused one of Cincinnati’s largest low-income housing providers of making them sick from mold exposure.
“Chloroform is harmful to the central nervous system and to the respiratory system, the same thing with benzene,” said attorney Jedidiah Bressman. “Once they knew that there was an issue, they had a duty to make sure that their residents were safe.”…