EPA memorandum on WTC dust wipe sampling and cancer risk

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

TO 917185954544 P.02/08 JlJL-29-2002 17:51 FROM '-IS Er’A REGION 2 ORC

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY A REGION 2 290 BROADWAY NEW YORK. NY 10007-1866

I JUL 2 9 2002 i The Honorable Jerrold Nadler U.S, House of Representatives i Wasliington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Nadler;

I am writing to update you on the progress the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made since my letter to you of April 25 concerning post-9/11 environmental issues in lower Manlrattan. I also want to respond to questions that you and others have raised about the extent to which EPA’s indoor air response activities will be consistent with the National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan, 40 C.F.R. Part 300 (the NCP). I know these issues are vitally important to you, as they are to me.

EPA continues to work supporting federal, state, and New York City efforts to recover from the federally declared disaster resulting from the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center. We do this under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) and in accordance with the applicable procedures and policies of the NCP. Our current focus is to address indoor air concerns through an indoor dust cleanup and air sampling program for residential spaces in lower Manhattan. I want to reassure you that EPA will implement a comprehensive program to ensure that lower Manliattan residents are protected from potential exposures to harmful dust and debris residuals. EPA will run this program in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), New York State, and New York City. We will use all the tools available, including appropriate aspects of the NCP, to achieve this goal as expeditiously as possible.

EPA is in the process of implementing three programs related to indoor air in lower Manhattan residences. These programs will be funded by FEMA under the Stafford Act, specifically Sections 403 (Essential Assistance) and 407 (Debris Removal),

Components of the Indoor Air Residential Assistance Program

First, EPA is directing a Confirmation Cleaning Building Study by collecting samples in a building that had only minimal cleaning since the attack, employing and evaluating various cleaning techniques. This project is under way, and field work should be completed in the next several weeks. Second, EPA is directing a Background Study to provide monitoring data on

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