Q&A and FAQ regarding WTC response, Oct 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

8) How many apartments are there in Lower Manhattan and will EPA have enough money to clean them all - if asked? Based upon census data. New York City has informed us that they estimate 31,000 residents and approximately two residents per dwelling unit for Lower Manhattan. We are working with an estimate of 15,000 apartments. Working with FEMA, we believe we will be able to fund cleanups for all - if necessary.

10) Will you use asbestos abatement contractors and will they wear “moon suits” and respirators to do the cleaning? For all cleanup activities, certified professional cleanup contractors will be used. For apartments that have already been cleaned, OSHA will not require workers to wear personal protective equipment. They have determined that tyvek suits and respirators are not needed. This decision is based on monitoring data collected by cleanup workers during cleaning operations in buildings close to the WTC site. If individual circumstances warrant, OSHA may exercise its authority to increase the level of personal protective equipment required.

11) How long will EPA offer this cleaning program? Many details of the program will be worked out over the next few weeks. We expect to have the hotline running by the end of May. Residents will be asked to make their requests for cleaning and testing through the hotline over a 60 to 90 day period.

At this point, we do not know exactly how long it will take to complete the cleanups. The time frame will be determined by the number of residents requesting cleaning and testing.

12) How will you clean the apartments in the unoccupied building you chose for your pilot study of cleaning methods? In order to recreate the ways many people cleaned their homes in Lower Manhattan, EPA will compare the effectiveness of cleaning methods ranging from those not recommended (vacuuming with an ordinary vacuum) to recommended methods (wet wipes and wet mops along with a different HEPA vacs with varying filters). The Agency will do pre- and post-testing in order to determine which methods were the most effective. We may do repeat cleaning, if necessary, as recommended to Lower Manhattan residents.

13) Will you be using micro vacuuming sample collection in your studies? There is ongoing scientific debate about the usefulness of micro vacuum samples since there is no risk-based standard for asbestos in dust. EPA will collect samples in the unoccupied building using micro vacuiuning techniques for study and screening purposes. We will also use other techniques such as wipe samples for certain compounds. Cmake sure NYC and NYS are on board with this)

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