Law Department notice on WTC document preservation, Oct 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

4. To what extent wore EPA and government communications regarding air quality and associated health risks: (a) received by the public; (b) understood by die public; and (c) effective in getting people to take the desired actions to reduce their potentiai health risks?

After the WTC terrorist attack, people received information from many different sources, and many factors - in addition to government communications - could have influenced their actions. Information is a critical component in helping the public minimize their exposure to potential health hazards. However, evidence gathered through government hearings, news polls, health studies, and our interviews indicated that the public did not receive sufficient air quality information and wanted more information on associated health risks. Also, evidence indicated that government communications were not consistently effective in persuading the public to take recommended precautions. Because of these concerns, the OIG conducted a survey of New York City residents regarding government communications. These results will be reported separately.

EPA has initiated several actions to improve its risk communications procedures during emergencies. Further, EPA is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to clarify roles and responsibilities for ensuring worker safety during an emergency response. We recommend that EPA continue to coordinate efforts to establish clear Federal roles.

5. What additional actions, if any, should EPA take to improve its response and recovery efforts in the WTC area related to ambient and indoor air quality?

The majority of officials contacted indicated EPA did not need to take additional actions to address outdoor ambient air quality concerns. However, concerns were expressed regarding indoor contamination, and several more measures can be taken to ensure that indoor cleanup effectively minimizes health risk exposure. We recommend that EPA implement a testing program to ensure the indoor cleanup effectively reduced health risks fi-om all pollutants of concern, and implement a verification program to determine whether previously cleaned residences have been recontaminated.

6. Should EPA revise its preparation and contingency planning for dealing with air pollution resulting from environmental catastrophes?

The events of September 11 had national security ramifications not previously experienced, and many persons interviewed spoke highly of the response of EPA and its employees. Still, we, as well as EPA and others, have identified lessons learned from the response that can improve EPA’s preparedness for future disasters. An overriding lesson learned was that EPA needs to be prepared to assert its opinion and judgment on matters that impact human health and the environment. Although many organizations were involved in addressing air

ill Report No. 2003-P-00012

NYC-WTC_000145352