News article on toxin anxieties at Ground Zero, undated

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Uncertainty surrounds asbestos By Traci Watson to have learned that there ap­ USA TODAY pears to be no significant levels ofasbestosdustintheairinNew When the World Trade Center York City.” EPA chief Christie collapsed, thousands of tons of Whitman said Sept. 13 asbestos spewed into the air of Whitman and other EPA offi- Lower Manhattan. On this point, cials neglected to say that the nearly everyone agrees. agency tested only outdoors. Beyond that, nothing is sim- where air pollution and toxic pie. In recent months, the asbe- dust are quickly diluted to harm- stos has aroused more fear and less levels. blame than any other pollutant Dozens of private firms have in the controversy over air qual- run tests, but the results can be Ground Zero. controversial. There are many The stakes are high. Asbestos methods of asbestos testing • does not cause the respiratory and even experts disyree over and eye problems that many which should be used New Yorkers are experiencing, However, it is clear that the in- but the microscopic fibers do tenors of at least a few buildings cause lung cancer. are coated with enough asbe- "I’ve heard there were neariy stos to be subject to EPA rules for 5,000 tons of asbestos released asbestos cleanup. Those rules in Manhattan, but (officials say) apply to dust or debris contain- everything’s okay," says Steve ing more than 1% asbestos. If Swaney, head of a tenants’ group kicked up by activity, that dust at a downtown apartment could easily be inhaled. building. *1 think they should A private scientific firm hired give people the truth.” by elected officials found up to The truth will be very hard to 79,000 of the most dangerous discern. Few environmental tox- types of asbestos fibers per ins boast the complications of square centimeter in the dust in asbestos. “The only thing every- an apartment near Ground Zero. one agrees about IS how to spell “These dust numbers are ex- the word,” says Rashad Shaikh, traordinary.” says Richard Lee. the former head of a research in- president of RJLee Group, a ma- stitute devoted to asbestos. terials lab and consulting firm. “I For starters, there's the hit- think you’d have to recommend. and-miss monitoring. Officials at based on (these) numbers, that the Environmental Protection these be professionally cleaned.” Agency say city officials took re- A second firm hired by a con- sponsibility for whether build- struction company found high ings should be reoccupied. So levels of asbestos in the air in the EPA restricted its testing to several large office buildings air and dust levels outdoors. near the Trade Center site. The city has yet to release in- Such buildings should be door test results, which could be cleaned by specialists. Lee said. available as soon as today. Ill-equipped cleaners could be Despite the lack of monitor- exposed to high levels of asbe- ing. EPA officials started teas- stos. And even one-time doses suring the public soon after of asbestos, if large enough, can Sept. 11 that asbestos posed no raise the risk of mesothelioma, a problem. "EPA is greatly relieved rare cancer

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