Fax cover sheet from Council on Environmental Quality, August 2000

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

FROM i FAX NO. : Aug. 09 2000 03:09PM P3

Homeland Security, improved its emergency response and crisis communications system, improvements that were successfully put to test in foe swift and well-coordinated response to foe space shuttle Columbia tragedy in February. In her prior letter to you, Acting Administrator Horinko outlined many actions foe EPA is pj^ntinning to take in response to this tragedy. Ms. Horinko described the substantial amount of monitoring, cleaning and re-cleaning already conducted, foe coordination between EPA FEMA and OSHA on indoor cleanup, OSHA’s commitment to continue to investigate complaints of dust exposure from workers in commercial establishments, and EPA’s ongoing focus on residences. Tn my meeting with Senator Clinton, we discussed at length the process of coordination following the attacks, including CEQ’s role. We have since shared with your staffs a compilation of federal air quality and related health studies conducted in the vicinity of Ground Zero which the Office of Science and Technology Policy completed in December 2002, as well as asbestos monitoring data for workers OSHA provided to the EPA, As you know, of the more than 4100 residential units in Lower Manhattan examined as part of EPA’s indoor air quality and cleaning program only about 1 percent woe found to have asbestos at levels exceeding the health-based standard for long-term risk. We hope this exchange has provided a clearer understanding of foe interagency coordination process and a greater knowledge of foe breadth of activities undertaken by tire federal government immediately following September 11"* and since.

To provide greater collaboration in ongoing efforts to monitor the situation for New York residents and workers and assure them of their current safety, we will be undertaking the following activities: 1) extend the health follow-up associated with foe Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s (ATSDR) registry of residents and workers; and 2) convene an expert technical review panel to help guide foe agencies’ use of foe available exposure and health surveillance databases and registries to characterize any remaining exposures and risks, identify unmet public health needs, and recommend any steps to further minimize the risks associated with foe aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks. EPA would organize and lead fois group of experts, wifo representation from foe federal agencies directly involved in foe air quality response and monitoring, foe New York City Departmente of Health and Environmental Protection, and outside experts. The panel would review foe following: Within 3-6 months: > Post cleaning verification sampling to be done by EPA in the residential areas included in EPA’s Indoor Air Cleanup to verify that re-contamination has not occurred fiom central heating and air conditioning systems; > The peer reviewed “World Trade Center Indoor Air Assessment and Selection of Contaminants of Concern and Setting Health-Based Benchmarks,” which concluded asbestos was an appropriate surrogate in determining risk for other contaminants. Within 18-24 months:—- > Identification of any areas where the health registry could be enhanced to allow better tracking of post-exposure risks by workers and residents.

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