EPA expanded WTC indoor cleanup plan, August 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Bellow also said the agency may expand the cleanup boundaries beyond Canal St. if contamination is found in buildings beyond that cutoff point. Protestors said that the E.P.A has not adequately informed the public of the cleanup program and that many residents would not know about it in time to sign up in time. A hotline for people concerned about contamination, (877) 796-5471, is open until Sept. 3. But Bellow said that the agency has mailed out over 38,000 fliers describing the program and would continue to advertise the program in the media. She also said the agency was considering extending the deadline for enrolling in the cleanup. Of the approximately 38,000 eligible apartments, the agency has so far received about 3,000 requests for apartment cleanings and about 1,000 requests for tests, officials said. The total cleanup bill, to be paid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is not yet clear. But the cost of cleaning a single apartment could range from $3,000 to $8,000. Last week, the agency gave its plan to city officials who will put contracts for the work out to bid. Eight contractors will perform the work, which could begin as soon as next month. According to the plan, a cleaning crew would enter a residence and determine what level of cleanup is appropriate according to the amount of dust and other debris. Contractors will use special vacuums to clean floors, walls, forniture and even books for tiny particles. Workers also will wipe down apartments by hand. Once the cleanup is complete, the resident could determine how aggressive the follow-up testing should be. Those residents who request the most aggressive asbestos testing - in which a 1- horsepower leaf blower will stir up any remaining dust - must leave their apartments for 48 hours. Housing assistance will be available through the Red Cross. Some environmental advocates have asked for testing to be conducted before the cleanup as well as afterward, concerned about the accuracy of a visual inspection. Some critics have also called for all apartments below Canal St. to be cleaned on a mandatory basis because of fears that one contaminated apartment could cross-contaminate a cleaned apartment. ERA Must Come Clean on Cleanup Questions Publication: Downtown Express By: Editorial I Date: August 14, 2002

The Environmental Protection Agency can’t have it both ways. In an interview last week with Downtown Express, agency officials said that the cleanup plan for indoor spaces near ground zero-that will begin nearly a year after the disaster-is mostly intended to reassure the public. But they also say there are remote but real health risks associated with the debris strewn by the World Trade Center—particularly from asbestos. So what gives? Either there is no health risk and the cleanup plan will be a multi-million dollar pacifier or the agency should be chastised for not moving a lot quicker. Critics such as Rep. Jerrold Nadler and a small but vocal group of residents are right in asking why it has taken the E.P.A. so long to come up with a plan to clean up apartment interiors near ground zero. Officials responded to such criticism last week in off the record comments by saying that the agency was overwhelmed by the task of monitoring the outdoor air following the disaster, and that the E.P.A. was not called in by the city to do the indoor cleanup until many months after the disaster.

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