Law Department notice on WTC document preservation, Oct 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

said that the construction company that hired him also interpreted EPA’s statement to apply to Ground Zero, and on the basis of EPA’s statements about air quality, company officials questioned the Laboratory Director’s recommendations that workers wear respirators. Although he was able to convince his client that respirators were needed, he told us that it was difficult to convince workers to wear respirators.

A November 2001 report^® prepared for the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations - Structural Engineering Emergency Response Plan Committee similarly noted that structural engineers at the site had concerns about environmental contamination at Ground Zero but proceeded with their work given the urgency of the situation. The report noted that although structural engineers assumed the air quality was being monitored by government agencies, specific information on the results of this monitoring did not filter down to the structural engineering teams. Further, structural engineers did not know if they were wearing the correct respirators. The report cited the following joint EPA and OSHA statement as an example of information that the authors concluded did not provide sufficient information on air quality or the proper respirators needed:

... EPA and OSHA are providing real-time analysis in the immediate vicinity ofthe debris pile at Ground Zero............ This information helps response workers on the scene determine what level ofrespiratory protection is appropriate to use (U.S. Dept, of Labor Press Release OJ-339)

Recent Developments EPA has initiated several actions to improve its risk communications to the public. These actions are discussed in Chapters 2 and 7. In regard to worker safety, EPA is participating in a FEMA-led Interagency Health and Safety Coordinating Committee to provide unified safety and occupational health leadership, guidance, and policy development for all Federal agencies under the Federal Response Plan. In particular, the Committee plans to develop an Emergency Support Function for Safety and Occupational Health.

Conclusions The public wanted better information about air quality than they received from government sources. A NYCDOH study, other lessons learned reports, and testimony provided at various hearings suggest that the public did not receive adequate air quality information and that individuals cleaned their residences without using proper procedures and personal protection. In addition, workers at

16 “World Trade Center Disaster: Structural Engineers at Ground Zero, ’’August Domel, Jr., Ph.D., S.E., P.E., November 2001.

44 Report No. 2003-P-00012

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