New York Times article on WTC asbestos testing results, 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document Darly Nent 2s/23202 Just 3 apartments yield WTC asbestos Federal environmental officials have nificant because roughly 20,000 apart- found very little asbestos in apartments ments eventually could be tested and near Ground Zero but acknowledge they dleaned. still do not know how much contamina- More definitive data was not available tion remains from the collapse of the because the cleanup program has been World Trade Center: going forward more slowlythan Of 255 homes tested for expected. asbestos by the Environmental Officials said the delay has re- Protection Agency, only three sulted partly from their attempts were deemed contaminated, of- to coordinate cleaning so apart- ficials said yesterday. ments in the same building are Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Man- scrubbed at the same time, to hattan) was among several crit- avoid cross-contamination. ics who dismissed the initial But they also faulted people liv* findings as "incomplete, unsub- ing near Ground Zero who have stantiated and illusionary:" failed to make and keep appoint- MThe EPA has demonstrated ments with cleaning crews. in the past that they would like Jerrold Nadler To date, 5,936 people have re- nothing better than to declare quested that their apartments be the area safe, sothey can pack up their cleaned and tested, or only tested for as- bags and leave the Trade Center case be- bestos. hind them," Nadler said. The free program is available to any- one who lives south of Canal, Allen and The criticism came even as the EPA said Pike Sts. its test results were not yet statistically sig- Greg Gittrich NYC-WTC_000143186