Article criticizing officials on asbestos risk underestimation, Jan 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Feds to foot $11.7^ bill for school WTC cleanu.b By AUSON GENOAR and GREG GfTTRICH potentially asebestos-laden dust in their □Aid' NEWS STAFF WRtTERS homes can call a toll-free number to or* The Board of Education won’t be stuck der a free cleanup. with a nearly $12 million bill to dean po- The Environmental Protection Agency tentially hazardous Worid Trade Center agreed 1^ month to create the unprec& dust from downtown schools, officials dent^ home-cleaning prog^ after,® said Yesterday ’'a® beseiged by complamts from people ■me Federi’ Emergency Management JJg, Agency told school officials yesterday that it would reimburse $11.7 million spent in deanup and environmental test- would eventually also cover $5 million settled. s^nt to d^ scjwls in buddings leased cleaning can be requested by caU- . ing (877) 796-5471 or going to Brad Gaii; federal recovery officer for wwwepagov/^c the World Trade Center disaster; told dty The hotSne wiu'be staffed to take dean- and school officials the news m an hour- ing and testing requests 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., long conference caU yesterday. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 Gair told the Daily News in April that p.m. on weekends. Money for vacuums sK^SSoldiaien. SSS^SS^i2!??ftrS£5 The board is still pushing for $103 mil- Item S’ ™S?FEMA*S^ ProfessSdeaning costs'about $1.50 ?®P*- expense FEMA has square foot, and the tab can quadru- saiditlsnotauthori2^tocoverand$40 d asbestos i^ detected. mi^on for mental health services for Those who register for the fed-man- still-traumatized students. aged deanup can track their requests “We made real progress today in get- and learn the results of testing and dean­ ting this decision from FEMA, but the re- up on the Web or through the hotline. maining costs to the s^ stem still need to The deaning is pypoctAd to begin in Ju- be met for the sake of New York’s school ly. kids,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D- Critics of the program insist deanup Manhattan), a FEMA critic. should be mandatory and entire buUd- The feds also announced that those liv- ings — not individual apartments — lug near Ground Zero who are fearful of should be scrubbed. .r irWOaS

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