Law Department notice on WTC document preservation, Oct 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

of the Fire Department, “the complexity of the activity performed at one site - rescue, recovery, demolition, and construction - at one time is unprecedented.” The New York City Office of Emergency Management was responsible for coordinating the response efforts of approximately 150 governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations. Further complicating the situation was the fact that the area was treated as a crime scene, with law enforcement authorities strictly limiting access for agencies such as EPA, particularly in the first 48 hours.

Nonetheless, EPA officials immediately recognized the need to monitor environmental conditions after the attacks occurred. After the collapse, EPA on-scene coordinators collected bulk dust samples that were analyzed for asbestos and lead. EPA’s Edison, New Jersey, location provided workspace for essential Region 2 personnel while EPA’s New York City office was closed. The Environmental Response Team in Edison also collected ambient air samples in New Jersey and Brooklyn on September 11, which were analyzed for the presence of asbestos, lead, and VOCs. On September 12, nine ambient (outdoor) air samples were collected from Ground Zero.

As the first week progressed, the assessment of environmental conditions became a primary emphasis for EPA and other Federal, State, and local government organizations. An EPA air monitoring specialist in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, took a team to New York and helped develop a monitoring network to assess the ambient air conditions for the general public around Lower Manhattan. In addition, a multi-agency task force was established to address environmental concerns, with EPA eventually being designated the lead agency for managing all of the ambient air data collected by the various government agencies.

In addition to responding to the air quality issues, which are the focus of this report, EPA conducted many other response activities. These included overseeing the removal of hazardous wastes, monitoring and assessing water quality, monitoring environmental conditions at the landfills, and establishing and operating personal and truck washing stations at the disaster site and landfills. Hazardous material removed from the site included an estimated 236 batteries, 802 containers, and 3,049 cylinders that had potential to cause environmental and human health damage. Further, approximately 639,465 gallons of fuel oil and/or oily water mixture were pumped from basements, manholes, trenches, and underground storage tanks. A NYCDDC official told us that EPA’s response was “phenomenal” in his opinion and that EPA’s response crews were on top of every issue.

Other Federal agencies in addition to EPA were involved in providing support to local authorities regarding environmental quality and safety. For example:

• FEMA was in charge of coordinating the FRP.

4 Report No. 2003-P-00012

NYC-WTC_000145359