Newspaper article on EPA apartment cleanup plan, Oct 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

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E.P.A. May ’’ Expand Plan To Clean s Apartments >14 E.P.A. officials said that accord^ to their initial estimates, 15,0op By KIRK JOHNSON * apartments will be covered by Federal officials said yesterday plan, and that cleanup by a contrag; that the government’s new commit­ tor for a typical two-bedroom apah- ment to clean any apartment south ment might cost $3,000 to $5,000. Jf of Canal Street in Manhattan, to re­ every resident participates and ea^ move dust and debris from the Wdrld apartment is within that range, that Trade Center disaster, might beex^ j would bring the cost to $45 million to panded to include reimbursement $75 million, not including the possibly for residents who have already had ; expansion and reimbursement plans their homes professionally cleaned.'* [ mentioned yesterday. They also said the cleanup pro­ ! At the news conference, Ms. Keiifl? gram, which was officially anr and other city and federal officii nounced yesterday at a news confer­ E Strongly rejected any suggestion ence at the Manhattan regional head* I that waiting eight months after the quarters of the Environmental Pro­ disaster to begin a cleaning program tection Agency, could be extended to for New York’s Interior spaces has include apartments outside the put residents at risk. The collapse of boimdaries if testing suggests the the trade center towers blasted dust need for it Depending on what if and ash, some of which contained found in the residential work, the asbestos or other potentially harmful interir- s of businesses may eventuj materials, across a wide area of the ally be included as well, they said.;'; city, including parts of Brooklyn. “No one should have to live with In fact, Mr. Ward said, the new anxiety about the safety of the air in cleanup program could validate their own homes,” said Jane Keqnjg what health and environmental offi­ the E.PA.’s regional administrator.- cials have said all along: that most The cleanup program, which is iex- apartment Interiors were not con­ pected to begin next month, reverse; taminated. the position that was taken a^r The degree of participatinn will Sept. 11 by federal, local and stats probably depend on whethe* inviting government officials, who insisted government apartment cleaners into that Lower Manhattan residents and one’s home sounds reassuring or in­ business owners were responsible trusive. The cleanups could take two for cleaning their own spaces. j to three days, officials said. The Under the new policy, the federal E.P.A. will set up a telephone num­ government has committed mopey ber for the program by the end of the to the cleanup, apparently without month, officials said. limit. “The most important message Representative Jerrold Nadler, a is that FEMA, our federal partri.^ Manhattan Democrat who also spoke has not said this is all there is,” sajd at the news conference, said he Christopher 0. Ward, the city’s com­ would work to see that apartments missioner of environmental prof^- were cleaned en masse, with every tion, referring to the Federal Emer­ resident participating so thatno dust gency Management Agency, which or debris is left over to be tracked will pay for the work. '"P back into cleaned spaces.

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