Toxic-Smelling Window Testing Begins
(CBS) – Testing has begun in response to the toxic-smelling windows installed near Midway and O'Hare airports as part of a city soundproofing program.
"The city absolutely wants to figure out what's happening with the windows, and we want to make this right for all of the homeowners," Aaron Frame, the Aviation Department official in charge of the city's sound insulation program, says.
Lab testing of one window has begun. Meanwhile, air-quality testing in six homes begins next month. It will examine air quality in those homes before and after the suspect windows have been replaced, Frame says.
That's good news to Ada Filippelli, who spent $8,000 on tradesmen trying to find out the source of smell in her home.
"It really knocked my breath out," she says.
She learned her problem may be related to her insulated windows after the 2 Investigators ran stories about the similar experiences of some of her neighbors.
Cheryl Rapp complained in 2015 about the nauseating smell in her home. After the city replaced her windows, she says, the toxic smell disappeared.
2 Investigator asked Frame why the city did not notify homeowners two years ago that there might be a problem. He says there didn't appear to be a wider problem then – one complaint each from a homeowner near Midway and at O'Hare.
Now, there have been 153 complaints, some even in the same block.
This gives the city "great concern," Frame says.
Anyone with concerns about their windows should contact the city at (773) 838-5632.
A sound insulation committee will hold a public meeting at 9:30 a.m Wednesday at the Norridge Village Hall, 400 N. Olcott.