Analysis of very fine and coarse particulate levels at WTC

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

JAN-25-2002 FRI 09:41 AH FAX NO. P. 11 I’lisl-UinpiiKb; NY olTU'-ttk umWttiiww (huger

.Slate and federal agcncic.s warned about the toxic material and asbestos in the dust and quickly (old people to wear masks, If tlicy found dust when they returned lo llielr homes.

Pluin paper or cloth musks were'worn by more then 1,800 voluniecrs from the Southern Baptist Chuioli, the Salvation Army and other groups who cleaned hundreds of apartments.

No one told them that of the 29 most available brands of masks on the market, only one eonUined filters fine enough to stop Ihc microscopic asbesto.s fiber,

'rhe El’A and the .state and city’, told residents who knew they had asbestos to "mop it up, wash it down mid throw it away" and "avoid inhaling dust while doing so."

But throughout the nation, a.di9sto.s removal is intensely regulated by stale and federal law, The law.*i, which curry steep penalties, demand that the clcimup be done by personnel wearing special Tcspinitora, full head-lo-toa prole dive suits and gloves, and the waste disposed of only at aulhorUcil sitw.

The EE A and New York health departments point fingers at each other as the source of the mislcndlng Infonrintion. Bellow admits that the EPA’s web site linked to Incorrect guidance for office and apartment landlord!} and renters, "It wasn’t our in formation. It was from the (New York) .state or city health department, and we removed it from our Web site last month," the spokeswoman said. "Obviou-sly, our asbestos program WM overwhelmed by a qatastiophc of Ais magnitude. We arc usually only concerned with asbestos from icnovutiona and building demolition."

However, 0 check of liPA's web Saturday found the same links were being used.

OLD MEDICAL IDEAS CLOUD ASBESTOS DECISIONS When it came lo the bwcftucrftts Issuing medical information on isbestos, the contradictions were even more glaring.

The New York City Dcpoitmcnt of Health told residents that "asbestos-related lung disease results only from intense nsbc.stos exposure experienced over a period of many years, primarily ns A con.sequcncc of occupHlionsl exposures."

pul the ETA's own exports as well as physicians at the CDC and private rcscwch centers have shown Ihiit a "single burst, heavy dose" of asbestos could be enough lo cause the lethal disease. ; rJrst month, the EHA Issued n'report documenting that casual exposure to asbestos has caused diseiiRc.

The P.PA, OSUA and Now York health and environmental experts repeatedly told the public that the health risks arc minimal Because the asbestos fibers are so small.

Asbestos fibcr.s are incasumd in microns, which are about l/lOOth the thickness of a human hair. They arc .so tiny that they wjH stay aloft for hours or days. The collapse of ihc towers exacerbated ihc problem by pulverizing the fibers into even smaller, thinner fragments.

Years ago, asbcstu.s rescarchci s believed fibers greater than 5 microns long presented the only

Snf7 l/lJ/02 Ito's A

NYC-WTC_000151969