NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
1 WASHINGTON. D.C. 20460
$
OFFICE OF
SOLID WASTE AND EMERGENCY
RESPONSE
MEMORANDUM
DATE: December 3,2001
SUBJECT: WORD TRADE CENTER ASBESTOS
TO: Lillian Bagus, Chief, Waste Identification Branch
HWID, Office of Solid Waste, US EPA
Robert Dellinger, Director
Hazardous Waste Identification Division (5304 W)
Office of Solid Waste, US EPA
FROM: Cate Jenkins, Ph.D., Environmental Scientist
WIB, HWID, Office of Solid Waste,
US Environmental Protection Agency
This memorandum will bring you up to date on the World Trade Center asbestos situation and
my efforts supplying information. The following topics are addressed:
1. HISTORY, including recent official EPA statements compared to EPA’s established scientific
policies and regulatory precedents on asbestos.
2. NEED FOR SAFE CLEANUP METHODS to protect citizens by utilizing the strict, science
based EPA national standards for asbestos cleanup and abatement.
HISTORY
9/11/01 - World Trade Center (WTC) towers collaw
On September 11,2001, the World Trade Center (WTC) towers collapsed after the impact of
heavily fuel laden passenger jets. The implosion pulverized asbestos to ultra-fine particles,
spreading them over a large area in lower Manhattan.
The WTC was built from 1968 to 1972. A slurry mixture of asbestos and cement was sprayed on
as fireproofing. This practice was halted in 1971 because of legislation. Some, but not all of the
asbestos was removed in a later abatement program.
NYC-WTC_000140138
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