EPA response letter with respirator policy revisions, August 2003

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

15. As the only asbestos containing material encountered at the WTC site was below grade, the City recommends that the first sentence of the first paragraph on page 10 be revised to read, “Both NYCDDC and EPA officials told us that asbestos containing material (e.g., pipe wrapping, steel insulation) was only encountered below grade, and when it was encountered during removal, it was tested and treated in accordance with asbestos abatement procedures.”

16. The City recommends that the last sentence of the footnote on page 11 be modified to provide a more complete explanation. The sentence should read, “Furthermore, they stated that the vehicles did not require decontamination since this was not a hazardous material situation and while decontamination procedures were not required, wash down procedures were mandated.

17. The first paragraph in the section labeled “Transfer of Debris to Barges” on page 12 is misleading and unfairly prejudicial to the City. This section is not based on substantial evidence. The testimony of people complaining must be evaluated very carefully. This has not been done in this report. The report, without any critical evaluation at all, seems to accept all of these complaints as true. The other evidence available, however, suggests that the complaints are unfounded. There is testimony that is true. The trucks transporting WTC debris were not marked as carrying hazardous waste. They were not marked in this manner because they were not carrying hazardous waste. This is just one example where testimony should have been critically evaluated before including it in the report. Of more concern is the uncritical acceptance of testimony of trucks not being wetted down properly and trucks not being covered properly, both resulting in the release of dust. The area around Stuyvesant High School was among the most thoroughly monitored in the City. There is no data to show that this area was contaminated by the operation of the transfer station from trucks to barges in the vicinity of the High School. Thus, if there was a release of dust, it was so insignificant as to present no risk at all to health and safety and should not be highlighted in this report. EPA itself, represents that air sampling concerning barge operations indicated that 99.83% of the samples were below the screening levels. The City consequently recommends that this paragraph be deleted.

18. The paragraph that begins at the bottom of page 12 should be modified. The last sentence reports that there was lead found in the ventilation system of Stuyvesant High School. The sentence also reports that it was not determined whether this lead was from WTC fallout. Given the dearth of air samples that were positive for lead and the fact that lead is unlikely to travel far as an airborne particulate, it is very unlikely that the lead found in the ventilation system was from WTC fallout. Even if it was, this has nothing to do with the City’s response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. While this may be of some academic interest, it has no place in this part of the report. The City recommends that this sentence be deleted.

19. The first paragraph in the section labeled “Asbestos Levels During Demolition and Debris Removal” is misleading. It unduly emphasizes that after September 2001 there were 7 air monitoring samples which exceeded the AHERA standard. It does not mention that there were approximately 40,000 samples taken during this period. Considered in this context, the fact that there were only seven exceedances demonstrates that the danger from asbestos was, in essence, non-existent. The report not only does not draw this conclusion, which is warranted, but it mischaracterizes the seven exceedances as showing the sporadic presence of asbestos in the ambient air. Given the extensive monitoring, less than one exceedance per month can hardly be C:\Documents and Settings\MichaelGi\Local 5 08/04/03 10:59 AM Settings\Temporary Internet FiIes\OLK5\Revised DratCmts.doc

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