EPA memorandum on WTC environmental data concealment, July 2004

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Air near Groun CT o o' o tn BY THE NUMBERS "0 o tAi oo The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has set an 03 exposure limit for asbestos at .1 fibers per cubic centimeter O during any eight-hour period. The following measurements o o

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S s al hygienist for the New York

I! By PAUL H.B. SHIN HOT ZONE DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Committee for Occupational up to O The levels of cancer-causing asbestos and other Safety and Health. The commit­ .14 tee has been conducting inde­ fibers per material still lingering in the air in lower Manhattan pendent tests on behalf of union r CHAMBER cubic centimeter remain below limits considered a health risk, federal members working near Ground authorities said yesterday. Zero. But with hundreds of tons of suits of its own monitoring last And asbestos is not the only hazardous material still buried hazard, he said. week. Using methods different “Even in the absence of toxic among the rubble of the World Trade Center, experts cautioned from OSHA, the EPA said asbes­ tos levels at times spiked to near­ components, the dust poses res­ L-J T 'I EAST RIVER

piratory hazards, particularly to workers at Ground Zero to keep ly twice the permissible limit, people with pre-existing respira­ FINANCIAL wearing respirators. HUDSON RIVER % rector STJ * but overall, cancer-causing as­ tory conditions such as asthma DISTRICT Air quality samples taken be­ bestos found in the air and dust or bronchitis,” Newman said. up to tween Sept, 13-27 at the rubble at Ground Zero and surround­ Meanwhile, the EPA conduct­ .041 pile’s so-called hot zone detect­ ing areas were mostly at low lev­ ed a whirlwind cleanup of Wash­ WARM ZONE fibers per ed airborne asbestos and fiber­ up to cubic centimeter els. ington Market Park at Cham­ >>■

glass at levels that at one point bers and Greenwich Sts. after a .086 topped .1 fibers per cubic centi­ Can scar lungs fibers per WHITEHAU local community group conduct­ cubic centimeter TERMINAL meter — the safety limit set by With prolonged exposure, as­ ed asbestos testing and found BATTERY TUNNEL the federal Occupational Safety bestos fibers can scar lung tis­ levels at times twice the permis­ and Health Administration. sue and eventually cause cancer. sible limit. The EPA hauled But 90%-95% of those fibers Though a few weeks is not con­ away all the sand in the play­ Hot Zone Financial Warm Zone were found to be fiberglass and sidered enough to cause scar­ ground and even some top soil (rubble pile) OSHA has District not asbestos. And samples ring, health experts warned that from surrounding area, said OSHA tOoK 72 collected OSHA has taken taken outside the hot zone have the government limits do not Parks Commissioner Henry samples in the hot about 40 samples. more than shown levels that OSHA consid­ necessarily mean it is risk free. Stern. zone. 90% to 95% 150 samples It ceased ers well below permissible lev­ “It’s okay legally, but it’s not “It’s more as a precaution that of the fibers found in the Warm sampling in the els of exposure. necessarily okay medically be­ the sand was removed,” Stem were fiberglass rather Zone through Financial District The Environmental Protection cause there’s no known safe said. “When something like this than asbestos. Sept. 24. on Sept. 21. Agency, which also is keeping level of exposure to asbestos,” happens, you want people to be tabs on air quality, released re- said David Newman, an industri- comfortable.”