NYC-WTC_000195741

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Testing and remediating of actual apartments and private workspaces has been left up to individual tenants?^ There has been no enforcement whatsoever of any rules or regulation with respect to testing or cleaning indoor private spaces?^

As the City placed the burden for testing and remediating indoor private spaces on individual tenants, it referred individuals for advice (though no other assistance) to the New York City Department of Health (NYC DOH) for recommendations on re­ occupying homes and businesses.^® The EPA, on its website and in public press releases, also referred residents to these recommendations^^, which state that “based on the asbestos test results received thus far, there are no significant health risks” and advises people to remove dust using a “wet rag or wet mop.”^° EPA Region II Acting Deputy Regional Administrator Kathleen Callahan reiterated that downtown tenants should look to the DOH guidelines for cleaning their indoor spaces in testimony before the New York City Council on December 11,2001.'"

This advice, which details unsafe and illegal cleaning methods,'*^ directly contradicts a letter from John Henshaw, Assistant Secretary for OSHA, which states, “in that the materials containing asbestos were used in the construction of the Twin Towers, the settled dust from their collapse must be presumed to contain asbestos” and therefore, OSHA federal regulations apply to the remediation of this material femphasis adHpdl The DOH advice ironically also contradicts a statement of dubious veracity from an EPA Region II Spokesperson who said in a February 2002 U.S.A Today article, “We have from the start been clear.. .they [those in Lower Manhattan] could assume that the material is asbestos-containing and that they needed to get that material cleaned up using

HWID, Office of Solid Waste, U.S. EPA) "Memorandum, Subject: Status of Air and Dust Asbestos Testing After WTC Collapse, March 11,2002." “ Berger, Elizabeth (resident), “Testimony before die United States Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air, Wetlands, and Climate Change,” February 11,2002. ” Miele, Joel (Commissioner, NYC DEP) “Testimony before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air, Wetlands, and Climate Change,” February 11, 2002. Remark made during the question and answer period. Letter from Joel Miele to Residents of Lower Manhattan, October 25,2001. ” EPA Region II Press Release, “EPA and OSHA Web Sites Provide Environmental Monitoring Data From World Trade Center And Surrounding Areas: Data Confirms No Significant Public Health Risks; Rescue Crews and Nearby Residents Should Take Appropriate Precautions,” October 3,2001. ** “Recommendations for People Re-Occupying Commercial Buildings and Residents Re-Entering Their Homes,” (www.ci.nvc.nv.us/html/doh/html/alerts/wtc3.html). printed on January 24*’2002 3:42pm. Callahan, Kathleen (Acting Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Region II), “Testimony before the New York City Council Environmental Protection Committee,” December 11,2001. Jenkins, Cate (Ph.D., Environmental Scientist, Waste Identification Branch, HWID, Office of Solid Waste, U.S. EPA), “Memorandum: World Trade Center Asbestos” to Lillian Bagus and Robert Dellinger, Hazardous Waste Identification Branch, December 3, 2001 and Jenkins, Cate (Ph.D., Environmental Scientist, Waste Identification Branch, HWID, Office of Solid Waste, U.S. EPA), “Memorandum to Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety in NYC: EPA National Standards vs. New York City Guidelines,” November 15, 2001. Henshaw, John, Assistant Secretary for OSHA, Letter to Mr. Lowell Peterson, January 31,2002.

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