I have for the past four years lived in an apartment building which is partially "subsidized". That is, 40% (I think) of the tenants pay reduced rent due to government subsidy. I moved here in the hope of becoming more or less "invisible" In this I have largely succeeded, though this place receives a lot of police attention because it is "low rent housing" (at least, less than half of it is).

I have been ill every winter at about this time for the past four years. I believed it was merely some seasonal factor (I'm at 47 degree latitude and the winter nights are quite long). In the past month I have discovered another likely reason.

The sewer vents on the roof of this three story building are blocked with ice and snow (I have photos). "Sewer gas" (hydrogen sulfide, methane, carbon dioxide, and other gases) is backing up into portions of the building. This was first noticed in early December when the smell was so strong a visitor thought we had a gas leak and called the fire department. They brought a "sniffer" and confirmed that "sewer gas" was the culprit. Several people called the office (which generally does not answer the phone), maintenance (ditto, and no voice mail) and emergency maintenance (the same). The only thing that was done was that a strong deodorizer was sprayed throughout the hallways.

I know of three people who are ill including myself. I have seen a doctor three times and had two courses of antibiotics and antiinflammatories, which had no effect. He has informed me that I show "symptoms of long-term exposure to an irritant" but has offered no suggestions as to how to deal with the problem.

At least two of us have continued reporting the matter to management and maintenance (I have also copied all of my complaints directly to the management company which owns this and around 70 other rental properties), with no response. I began calling regulatory agencies at the city, county, state, and federal level. As of this writing, I have contacted at least a dozen different agencies (all public housing or health related) and have been told that they have no jurisdiction over this place. None of them can tell me who does.

The only help I have gotten so far was from a city inspector who came out with a crew and checked the sewers outside the building, all of which are in working order. He said that he would speak to Maintenance again and that if they did nothing, he would speak to them a bit more strongly (noting that he has the authority to ticket them).

The following day, "maintenance" knocked at my door and informed me "we walked through here and we can't smell anything". When I left for work, I noticed the smell in the hallways again, and that no one had been up on the roof (no marks in the snow) and that the sewer vents/stacks were still blocked. When I returned home the place had been sprayed with deodorizer again.

We are looking at three days of extreme cold and heavy snow here. The vents will block up still further. I feel a bit like the passengers on the train going into the Taggart Tunnel, except that I am no looter. At least half of the tenants here are paying full rent. All of us have a lease, a contract, which guarantees that management will keep up on maintenance and maintain a healthy, "livable" environment here.

About the only alternative that seems left to me is to contact an attorney. What that will cost me out of pocket I do not know. Whether an attorney can bring enough pressure to bear on the owners of this place to get them to solve the problem I have no idea. And while I'm no moocher, I do have to wonder what over a month of ill health, with exposure to potentially fatal conditions, for the fourth year straight, might be worth in terms of compensation.