NYC-WTC_000195741

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Furthermore, in testimony provided at the EPA National Ombudsman Investigative Hearing on March 11,2002, it was discovered that OSC’s took indoor air samples at Stuyvesant High School, and were involved in the decision to reopen the school on October 9,2001."® Sign-in sheets document that two EPA On-Scene Coordinators, the same two OSCs that did the assessments of residential and commercial buildings, were in fact at the meeting on whether or not to open Stuyvesant."* However, in an email to Ombudsman Martin denying a request for the OSC’s testimony, the OSC’s supervisor, Doug Lair, stated that the OSC had spent only “two weeks in New York in September” and that be bad “minimal knowledge” of World Trade Center response activities!" This statement cannot be true given even what little we know about OSC involvement in Lower Manhattan in September and October. More importantly, the statement by Doug Lair provides confirmation that OSCs were present in New York following September 11 , and that they have knowledge of response activities.

Clearly, the EPA began to implement, at least partially, the National Contingency Plan. The EPA has been given numerous opportunites to provide evidence that these legal obligations have been fulfilled, and it has provided no such evidence. Quite the contrary, the testimony and correspondance of numerous EPA officials that FEMA made delegations of authority argues that EPA did not fulfill its mandated oversight responsibility through On-Scene Coordinators.

As mentioned previously, the EPA, on its website and in public press releases, has referred people to the New York City Department of Health (NYC DOH) recommendations for guidance on reoccupying their homes and businesses.'" These recommendations advise people to remove dust using a “wet rag or wet mop.”**** This advice is clearly illegal for a number of reasons. First, as noted above, OSHA Assistant Secretary Henshaw issued a letter stating that the settled dust from the collapse of the A Twin Towers “must be presumed to contain asbestos” and therefore, OSHA federal I-/ f^ilatinnc oppiy tn the remediation of this material"^ Asbestos-containing material is w hazardous substance, and falls under the requirements of the NCP. ’ Therefore, EPA exercise oversight of all the settled dust from the collapse of the World Trade ? Center, including dust that settled inside people’s homes and businesses.

“Official Transcript,” EPA National Ombudsman Second Investigative Hearing on World Trade Center Hazardous Waste Contamination,” March 11,2002, Testimony of Bernard Orlan, p. 307-309, 389-390. Martin, Robert J. “Interim Finding: National Ombudsman World Trade Center Hazardous Waste Case” March 27,2002. "^Ibid 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.nyc.ny.us/html/doh/html/alerts/wtc3.html). printed on January 24’ 2002 3:42pm. Letter from John Henshaw (Assistant Secretary for OSHA) to Mr. Lowell Peterson, January 31,2002. ^40 CFR 302.4; CRS Report RS21042, Asbestos: Federal Regulations of Uses, by Edward Rappaport, October 9, 2001; CRS Report RL30798, Environmental Laws: Summaries of Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, by Martin R. Lee, January 4, 2001.

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