EPA testimony before NY State committee, Nov 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

. Stateipent of Kathleen Callahan Acting Deputy Regional Administrator U.S. Environment.. Page 2 of 4

stations.

I know that many lower Manhattan residents and employees of businesses in the area have felt the effects of the smoke still coming from fires at the site. The odors can be intense depending on the strength of the fires and the weather.

As you will hear later from various health officials, the particulate matter from the plume can be irritating to your eyes, nose and throat. It can cause more serious reactions in sensitive populations, such as people with respiratory problems or asthma, according to health officials, but does not cause any irreversible health affects.

I'm sure that many of you saw the Daily News headlines last Friday heralding a "Toxic Zone" at ground zero. While the data in the story were accurate, the interpretation of the data and the context was not.

The Daily News focused on a small number of sampling results with the highest contaminant readings. The paper failed to report, however, that EPA has taken thousands of samples that do not exceed federal standards or guidelines. In addition, the sampling results highlighted in the article are snapshots of the levels of certain chemicals associated with burning - such as benzene, dioxin and sulfur dioxide - at a moment in time. They were taken right on the debris pile, at ground level. Some were even taken using probes placed into the pile. EPA and Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards are set many times below the level at which you would expect health impacts. Our results tell us that these chemicals are present at ground zero at levels that sometimes exceed a federal standard. Again, taking the most protective approach - we continue to urge workers to wear their respirators.

People living and working in the area should take comfort in the fact that EPA air samples of pollutants such as benzene, dioxin and sulfur dioxide taken at the perimeter of the work site are either very low or non- detectable.

These pollutants are often found in the urban environment as a result of vehicle and factory emissions. With fires still burning at ground zero, is it not surprising that these levels are higher the closer one gets to the World Trade Center site. But, when the plume of smoke rises out of the site, it is quickly dispersed in the wind. Concentrations of any chemicals in the smoke are greatly reduced. Sensitive groups - those with asthma or other respiratory problems - have been advised to follow New York City Health Department advice to take special precautions.

Now I'd like to turn to some of our other findings. We have found asbestos in some of our air and dust samples at ground zero and the surrounding area. Some of the dust samples show levels above the one percent used to indicate that a material is asbestos-containing.

To date, out of more than 1300 air samples taken at about 20 fixed air monitoring stations in and around the site, only 30 have had levels of asbestos that exceed the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act or AHERA standard, we use to determine if children can re-enter a school building after asbestos has been removed or abated. It is a stringent and protective standard . With one exception on October 9, the last time we recorded a level above the school re-entry standard was September 30.

Keep in mind that the levels of asbestos we have found do not imply an

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