EPA indoor asbestos cleanup results summary, Oct 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Lowep Manhattan Public Information Campaign Page 1 of2

Avaltroni, Robert From: Blake, Justin [[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday. October 23. 2002 2:39 PM To: '[email protected]' Subject: Lower Manhattan Public Information Campaign

Hi Bob: What follows is the story for LowerManhattan.info for your review and comments. We would like to put this on our site today.

-Justin (212-704-8165)

Early Test Results Show Asbestos-Free Apartments Preliminary results from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) indoor cleanup program reveal that for the majority of Lower Manhattan apartments cleaned and tested by the agency thus far, very little asbestos contamination from World Trade Center dust has been found.

EPA officials announced that for 246 of255 apartments cleaned and tested through October 17, all results for asbestos testing were below the EPA clearance level, and only three apartments tested showed any results above EPA clearance levels. The clearance level set by the EPA for asbestos is 0.0009 fibers per cubic centimeter. According to the agency's Web site, that means "if 10,000 people are exposed to this level of asbestos for 30 years, there may be one more case of cancer than if the group had not been exposed at all." While encouraged by initial findings, EPA officials stress that testing is still in the very early stages. "What we have now are the results from a few hundred residences out of thousands," said Richard Stapleton, an EPA spokesperson. To date, only 255 apartments of almost 6,000 OS registered for the progr^ have been cleaned and tested. Of those registered, 4,790 have requested cleaning and testing of their apartments, and another 1,146 have requested only testing. The EPA has decided to make all results available to the public as soon as possible. "We are putting the data up so everyone can follow along with us as we learn," said Stapleton. The first test results were announced at a press conference on October 22, and aggregate test results will be updated weekly on the EPA website <http://www.epa.goy/factsheets/clean test results.htm>. Test results for individual residents will be provided only to residents of the affected units, and individual test results will be mailed four to six weeks from the date of testing. The testing process itself could continue to evolve as more apartments are tested and as more results become known. According to agency officials, modifications to the program - both in terms of testing for more contaminants, such as lead, mercury and dioxins, and expanding the testing area - could be made in the future. "We are concerned right now with what levels we find, and where we find those levels," said Stapleton. "If we find that the level of contamination is of concern, or that it is widespread beyond the immediate surrounds of ground zero, we will reconsider expanding the boundaries of the assistance area." Surprisingly, the greatest challenge faced by the EPA so far in the indoor cleanup project has been scheduling the cleanup itself. "Given the outcry for assistance, we were prepared for a deluge of calls from residents saying, 'I want to be first,"' said Stapleton. Instead, contractors have struggled to set up testing for those who have requested it, finding people too busy to commit to appointment times. In some cases, contractors have arrived for scheduled cleanups only to find no one home. "It never

10/31/02

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