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Asbestos
- Testing Carpet, the Asbestos Reservoir, June 9, 2002 by Cate Jenkins, EPA Hazardous
Waste Identification Division
- Asbestos Fallout Is Found
In Co-op Near WTC Site
— A seven-story co-op building half a mile north of Ground
Zero was recently found to be contaminated with high levels of
asbestos.
 (Daily News, May 2)
- Dealing with Asbestos in the New York
Cleanup
(International Union of Operating Engineers)
- Status of Air and Dust
Asbestos Testing After WTC Collapse, March 11, 2002 by Cate Jenkins, EPA Hazardous Waste
Identification Division
For links material published
before February 1, 2002, click
here.
Breaking news
- Questions Continue as
WTC Recovery Ends —
After more than eight months and 3 million man-hours at one of
the most hazardous work sites in the nation, the recovery and
cleanup at the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster site came to
an end on May 30. The controversy over OSHA's decision to suspend
enforcement at the site, however, may be just beginning. In a
statement released to mark the occasion, Labor Secretary Elaine
Chao said she is proud of the OSHA effort and pointed out that
only 35 recovery workers missed workdays due to injury, and none
lost their lives at the site where thousands perished because
of the terrorist attack. That record does not appear to satisfy
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who represents the part of Manhattan
that includes the WTC. In a June 3 letter to OSHA Administrator
John Henshaw, Nadler wrote, "While OSHA officials have provided
a variety of justifications and rationales" for not enforcing
safety and health rules at the site, "none have proven to
be conclusive." The congressman asked for a number of documents,
including those upon which the "no enforcement" decision
was based. At press time, there was no indication from OSHA about
how it would respond to Nadler's request. (Occupational Hazards,
July 2002)
- 9/11 Exposed Deadly Flaws
in Rescue Plan —
Minutes after the south tower collapsed at the World Trade Center,
police helicopters hovered near the remaining tower to check
its condition. "About 15 floors down from the top, it looks
like it's glowing red," the pilot of one helicopter, Aviation
14, radioed at 10:07 a.m. "It's inevitable." Seconds
later, another pilot reported: "I don't think this has too
much longer to go. I would evacuate all people within the area
of that second building." Those clear warnings, captured
on police radio tapes, were transmitted 21 minutes before the
building fell, and officials say they were relayed to police
officers, most of whom managed to escape. Yet most firefighters
never heard those warnings, or earlier orders to get out. Their
radio system failed frequently that morning. Even if the radio
network had been reliable, it was not linked to the police system.
And the police and fire commanders guiding the rescue efforts
did not talk to one another during the crisis. Cut off from critical
information, at least 121 firefighters, most in striking distance
of safety, died when the north tower fell. (New York Times, July 7)
- Landlord and Insurer Battle
over 9/11 Cleanup
— Located one block north of the World Trade Center, the
1 million-square-foot office at 100 Church St. suffered serious
damage on Sept. 11. Over 500 windows were blown out, and much
of the building was permeated with toxic dust. Its tenants, including
the Bank of New York, Merrill Lynch and the City of New York's
legal department, were forced to relocate until it was safe to
return. But when was that? According to the owner, Zar Realty
Management Corp., the building wasn't ready to be reoccupied
until early spring. But Allianz Insurance Co., the property's
insurer, believes 100 Church was safe for tenants to return in
January. The fight is continuing even though most of the tenants
are now back in the building. Zar claims that Allianz owes it
an additional $6.5 million for damage and cleanup work and $4.7
million for lost rent. Allianz contends it has met its obligations,
having paid the landlord $7 million for lost rent between Sept.
11 and Jan. 31 and $6.5 million for property damage and decontamination.
(RealEstateJournal.com, June
19, 2002)
- Smoke screen — Ground Zero has been officially
cleared with the removal of the last beam from the collapsed
World Trade Centre, but evidence is growing that the US government
failed to warn the public about the dangers of pollution in the
aftermath. (Guardian, June 5)
- EPA Blasted Over World
Trade Center Cleanup Program
— From Latin American day laborers to Southern Baptist volunteers,
hundreds of people cleaned potentially hazardous dust from buildings
around the World Trade Center site without standard safety gear.
The cleanup continued for months after Sept. 11 as public agencies
issued confusing and often reassuring assessments of risks posed
by the dust, according to public documents and dozens of interviews.
(Associated Press, May 18)
- Eight Months After World
Trade Center Catastrophe, EPA Plans to Oversee Professional Cleanup
of Lower Manhattan Residences — On May 8 the EPA abandoned its previous
position that it had no responsibility for indoor spaces that
were contaminated when the World Trade Center collapsed. The
agency announced that in June it would begin a program to clean
living quarters below Canal Street, upon the resident's request.
While many welcomed the EPA reversal, some public health activists
also criticized it sharply as being "too little, too late."
(NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health, May 17)
- Most Cars Caught in WTC
Collapse Will Be Destroyed, but Others Face Uncertain Fate — Hundreds of cars and trucks that
were contaminated with asbestos-laden dust from the World Trade
Center collapse are at the center of a controversy that has pitted
government officials, unions, insurance companies and public
health advocates against each other. (NYCOSH Update on Safety
and Health, May 17)
- Scammers Exploit Lower
Manhattan Environmental Fears
— Many New York City residents have recently received e-mail
messages or leaflets telling them that they can get a "free"
air conditioner, HEPA vacuum cleaner or air purifier by buying
one and applying to FEMA for reimbursement. It isn't true.
(NYCOSH Update on Safety and Health, May 17)
- Fire Truck Danger: Union
Says WTC Dust on Rigs a Health Risk — Hundreds of fire trucks that responded
to the World Trade Center attacks remain contaminated with potentially
toxic dust, posing health risks to firefighters, union officials
charge. Although the Fire Department has examined the 200 surviving
rigs that were at Ground Zero on Sept. 11, only four were professionally
decontaminated, FDNY officials acknowledged. The rest were deemed
safe and sent back on the streets. In contrast, the Environmental
Protection Agency has ordered the destruction of 890 cars laced
with asbestos from the twin towers. For the full text of
this article, reproduced as part of NYCOSH in the News, click
here, or to view it on the magazine's own website click on:
(Daily News, May 15)
- EPA Rapped for NYC Cleaning
Program — The
government could spend as much as $100 million to clean downtown
Manhattan apartments of dust from the World Trade Center collapse,
but critics say the program may be coming too late to help those
at greatest risk of health problems. Federal and city environmental
officials announced last week they would pay for professional
cleaning and air-quality testing of the apartment of any area
resident who requests the work. "It would have been far,
far better for the EPA to have done this much sooner," said
Jonathan Bennett, spokesman for the nonprofit New York Committee
for Occupational Safety and Health. "It would have given
people protection from things that are now in their lungs that
they can't be protected from now." For the full text
of this article, reproduced as part of NYCOSH in the News, click
here, or to view it on the magazine's own website click on:
(Associated Press, May 14)
- EPA Vows Housing Cleanup — Bowing to angry tenants and homeowners
near Ground Zero, the Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday
it would test and clean apartments potentially tainted with asbestos
from the destruction of the World Trade Center. (Daily News, May 9)
- A Crusader Cheers Feds'
Decision — Eight
months ago, environmental lawyer Joel Kupferman was one of the
few voices challenging the federal Environmental Protection Agency's
assurances there was no health threat to the public from pollutants
released by the World Trade Center collapse. (Daily News, May 9)
- EPA to Clean WTC Apartments — After saying for eight months
that there was no significant health risk from the dust from
the collapsed World Trade Center, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency announced Wednesday that it will clean the dust from apartments
in Lower Manhattan. "We are pleased that the EPA has decided
to accept responsibility for protection of residents of Lower
Manhattan," said Joel Shufro, executive director of The
New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH),
a coalition of unions and health professionals. "This is
not only a step in the right direction, it is a reversal of EPA's
policy." (United Press International,
May 8)
- In A Major Reversal, Officials
Announce EPA Will Pay For Cleanup, Testing of Apartments In Lower
NYC — Lower
Manhattan residents who were concerned about their health following
the 9/11 attacks got some good news Wednesday, as the government
announced it will pay to clean up thousands of apartments. After
much debate over the potential health risks of the debris from
the toppled WTC, officials announced that the EPA will pick up
the tab to have apartments in the area cleaned and tested. Many
residents were pleased by the news, but others say it's too little,
too late. (WABC-TV, May 8)
- WTC Minority Workers'
Ills Persist —
More than 400 immigrant workers hired to clean buildings
near the World Trade Center site continued to suffer respiratory
and other symptoms months after their first exposure to the dust,
a Queens College physician reported yesterday. Dr. Steven Markowitz,
who supervised a medical monitoring van near Ground Zero for
two months, gave preliminary results of examinations of 415 building
cleanup workers. For the full text of this article, reproduced
as part of NYCOSH in the News, click
here. (Newsday, April 28)
- Expert Says Asbestos Slightly
Raised Risks for Disease Among Residents of Lower Manhattan — The risk of asbestos-related
disease, including cancer, has risen slightly for tens of thousands
of people in Lower Manhattan as a result of the collapse of the
World Trade Center, a prominent New York physician said yesterday.
The risk is higher, he said, for those who worked under the most
hazardous conditions, and much of the danger could have been
reduced or eliminated entirely if proper preventive action had
been taken. But the risks from asbestos exposure were also compounded
for many people, including rescue and cleanup workers, who did
not wear respirators sufficient to protect their lungs at ground
zero and nearby. Many day laborers, including large numbers of
immigrants who spoke little or no English, were hired to clean
up dust-laden buildings, Dr. Levin said, with little or no protection
or instruction. "It's a public health outrage that they
were permitted to be exposed this way," he said. (New York Times, April 26)
- AFL-CIO to Honor Victims
of 9/11 — Since
1996, April 28 has been set aside as Workers' Memorial Day in
more than 100 nations. Each year, time is set aside to remember
those men and women who were killed, injured or struck with disease
while on the job. On Sunday, the New York State AFL-CIO will
pay tribute to the workers killed or injured as a result of the
Sept. 11 attacks with a special performance of the highly acclaimed
play "The Guys" at Lincoln Center. (Daily News, April
24)
- Watchdog Quits EPA: Silenced,
He Says: Martin Questioned Agency Chief's Connections — The government watchdog who rides
herd on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of
citizens resigned in disgust yesterday, saying the Bush administration
has moved to silence him. EPA ombudsman Robert Martin's Earth
Day resignation came after he raised questions about agency Administrator
Christine Todd Whitman's financial ties to the owner of a Denver
Superfund site and to a firm that provided insurance around the
World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
April 23)
- Toxic Fallout — Ray Suarez reports from lower
Manhattan on environmental concerns provoked by the collapse
of the World Trade Center. Mary Perillo and Pat Moore are neighbors
in an apartment building just 300 feet from where the Trade Center
Towers once stood. Perillo and Moore had to buy moon suits and
respirators just to enter their apartment building, and six months
after 9/11, their apartments are still covered in a thick layer
of gritty dust. (PBS NewsHour, April
16)
- EPA Considers Paying for
Apartment Cleaning
— Seven months after the World Trade Center collapse, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said April 12 it was considering
paying for the cleanup of hundreds of dust-filled apartments
and offices in lower Manhattan. News that the federal agency
might take the financial burden of the massive cleanup from landlords
and tenants came during an Assembly hearing on air quality issues.
In a heated exchange between EPA regional director Kathleen Callahan
and Assemb. Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan), Callahan said the
agency was considering the possibility of paying for indoor cleanup
of buildings. (Newsday, April 13)
- Injuries Few Among Crews
at Towers Site —
It had been called one of the most dangerous work sites in America.
But as the cleanup at ground zero draws to a close, federal records
show that only 35 of the more than 1,500 workers assigned to
help clear debris from the World Trade Center site were seriously
injured in more than six months of work there. None of these
injuries — among ironworkers, carpenters, heavy equipment
operators and the dozen or so other types of specialized workers
— were classified as life-threatening. (New York Times, April 12)
- WTC Plan Causes Concern
Over Clean Up —
The agency charged with rebuilding the 16-acre site where the
World Trade Center once stood released a "set of principles"
Tuesday to guide development of the site but some think the plan
is doomed if clean up is ignored. "If they go and build
on a dirty foundation, there will be no trust, people will get
sick because ‘Ground Zero' has all the characteristics of
a Superfund site and the project will be doomed," said Indira
Singh, a risk architect and volunteer emergency medical technician.
(April 9, United Press International)
- U.S. Report on Trade Center
Echoes Lessons of Past Disasters — A New York City skyscraper burns out of
control, fireproofing is absent or fails, structural steel warps
and snaps, floors begin to collapse, workers in the building
die. The date is Aug. 5, 1970. The skyscraper is called 1 New
York Plaza, less than a mile from where the World Trade Center
towers were rising into the clouds. The fire and collapse of
the World Trade Center last Sept. 11 in many ways stand alone,
both in the terrifying attack and in the incomprehensible death
toll. The first federal assessment of the trade center disaster,
which The New York Times obtained last week, has made clear that
there may have been no reasonable precautions that could have
stopped the towers from collapsing once they were struck and
huge fires broke out. (New York Times, April 2)
- Cars Trapped at WTC Now
Stuck in Another Mess: City Had Planned to Release Contaminated
Vehicles Until Congressman Called in Federal Environmental Officials — The letters went out earlier
this month, informing the owners of almost 400 cars and trucks
recovered from in and around the World Trade Center disaster
site that the vehicles could be reclaimed at the Fresh Kills
landfill. All the owners had to do was cover them "with
a tarp or other impervious material" and haul them away
on a flatbed. That was the easy part. For the full text
of this article, reproduced as part of NYCOSH in the News, click
here, or to view it on the newspaper's own website click
on: (Newark Star-Ledger,
March 29)
- Feds Must Fund WTC Study — The federal Environmental Protection
Agency came under fire Feb. 11 at a U.S. Senate hearing held
in lower Manhattan for prematurely stating that polluted air
from the World Trade Center disaster was safe. (Public Employee Press, March
2002)
- EPA Accused of Neglect
In 9/11 Cleanup —
A watchdog for the Environmental Protection Agency has accused
the agency of neglecting its responsibility and urged a cleanup
of buildings contaminated by World Trade Center debris. "EPA
has abandoned its responsibility for cleaning up buildings [both
inside and out] that are contaminated, or that are being recontaminated,
as a result of the uncontrolled chemical releases from the World
Trade Center terrorist attacks," Ombudsman Robert Martin
wrote in a March
27 letter to Jane Kenny, head of the agency's New York region.
(Daily News, March 29)
- Potentially Hazardous
Debris from WTC Being Removed
— Dozens of workers in protective suits will fan out across
lower Manhattan to clean potentially hazardous World Trade Center
debris from building facades and roofs, officials said Tuesday.
The cleanup should stop wind and human activity from eroding
caked debris into dust that could blow into nearby homes and
businesses, city and federal officials said. The solid debris
poses no immediate health threat, officials said. But city testers
found possibly dangerous levels of asbestos on about half of
the buildings they examined around ground zero, said Diana Chapin,
first deputy commissioner of the city's Department of Environmental
Protection. (Associated Press, March
26)
- Cop Chief Fears He Has
Twin Towers Cough
— A top police chief who is retiring today is considering
seeking a disability pension because he fears he may have the
so-called World Trade Center cough, the Daily News has learned.
Chief Allan Hoehl, a 40-year NYPD veteran and commanding officer
of Manhattan South, has been undergoing medical tests for a persistent
cough he has had since he was nearly killed by the collapse of
the twin towers. "In my lungs I have every kind of poison
that was there, and inhaled everything down there for months
afterward," the three-star chief told The News yesterday.
"Hopefully, that won't turn out to be fatal five years or
10 years down the line." (Daily News, March 19)
- WTC Workers Deal With
Freon — Ground
Zero workers are closing in once again on the delicate task of
examining and possibly draining freon from chillers which cooled
the World Trade Center, officials said. The work will mirror
a similar project conducted in early December on a larger chiller
complex that was located between Towers One and Two, said Matthew
Monahan, a spokesman for the city Department of Design and Construction.
The work is described as delicate because freon can be dangerous.
As one Ground Zero worker put it last week, "Freon displaces
oxygen so it's something that can put you down pretty quickly."
(Newsday, March 19)
- Return of WTC Cars Hits
EPA Roadblock —
Concerns about asbestos-tainted dust have slammed the brakes
on the city's plan to return hundreds of cars towed from streets
around the World Trade Center to their owners. For the
full text of this article, reproduced as part of NYCOSH in the News, click
here, or to view it on the newspaper's own website click
on: (Daily News, March 18)
- Ground Zero Contamination
— National Public
Radio speaks to Eric Goldstein of the Natural Resources Defense
Council and New York Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez about
the serious health issues caused by debris from the World Trade
Center collapse. The two are concerned not only for the safety
of New Yorkers but also by the conduct of some government agencies
which they charge did not properly inform the public about the
health risks. (March 11)
- Toxic WTC Cars Set for
Pickup — For
sale: Chevy Malibu. Two years old. A few dents. Auto transmission.
No A/C. Well — actually there is air conditioning, but if
you turn it on, asbestos will blow in your face. The city is
preparing to return hundreds of vehicles coated in toxic dust
from the World Trade Center to their owners this month —
which could cause problems for used-car buyers. The Daily News
has learned that random tests done on the cars show that as much
as 3% of the dust is asbestos — more than three times the
level that triggers federal cleanup rules. (Daily News, March 8)
- NYCOSH Proposes Program
for Local Government to Protect Workers and Residents in Lower
Manhattan from Contaminated Air, Offers City Council Hearing
Detailed Criticism of Official Inaction. (March
8)
- WTC Health Van Closes
— More
than 400 day laborers, building maintenance workers and housekeepers
who were examined at a Ground Zero medical van are suffering
nearly identical symptoms of respiratory distress related to
toxic substances in World Trade Center dust and debris. The preliminary
results came Friday from medical staff of the mobile unit on
their last day of operation. For the full text of this
article, reproduced as part of NYCOSH in the News, click here, or to view it on the newspaper's own
website click on: (Newsday, March 2, 2002)
- OSHA Institutes Local
Emphasis Program Near Ground Zero; Says WTC Dust Must Be Presumed
to Contain Asbestos
— Reacting to widespread criticism that employers are exposing
WTC-vicinity clean-up workers to toxic dust and other hazards,
OSHA adopted a new policy for targeting lower Manhattan employers
in late January. (NYCOSH Update on Safety
and Health, March 1)
- NYCOSH Testifies at EPA
Ombudsman Hearing in Manhattan — The
controversy about environmental contamination in and around the
World Trade Center site was the subject of a February 23 hearing
in New York City sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Ombudsman. (NYCOSH Update on Safety
and Health, March 1)
- Fear Spreads Over Exposure
to WTC Dust: Mechanics Who Worked on Fire Trucks and Ambulances
are Worried About Asbestos Contamination — At the two city facilities where
fire engines and city ambulances are brought for repairs, the
mechanics are angry -- and scared. "The vehicles that came
into our shop were caked with that stuff," said a Staten
Islander who works in the Long Island City garage. "It was
packed into the air filters, the air hoses, the heating ducts,
everywhere. When we'd clean the crap off there'd be these fine
clouds of dust wafting around the shop. And we were there breathing
it in. (Staten Island Advance, March
February 28)
- WTC Air Quality Questioned
at Hearing —
(United Press International, February 24) — The controversy
swirling around the environmental contamination in and around
where the World Trade Center once stood continued in a hearing
in New York City sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's ombudsman's office.
- NYCOSH
Testimony at the EPA Ombudsman Investigative Hearing on the Environmental
and Public Health Impact of the World Trade Center Attack, February 23
- EPA Ombudsman: Respirators
Needed At Ground Zero
— (Newsday, February 23) — Residents, workers and Ground
Zero platform visitors should wear respirators because of toxic
air around the World Trade Center site, the federal Environmental
Protection Agency's ombudsman plans to tell a Manhattan hearing
Saturday. The advice contradicts recommendations from EPA head
Christie Todd Whitman, city health officials and other experts
who say only Ground Zero workers require a respirator. Those
officials say some tests shortly after Sept. 11 showed dangerous
levels of asbestos and other contaminants but air samples since
then have been more reassuring.
- Breathing the Air Downtown
— Recent hearings
and analyses of air quality near the site of the World Trade
Center collapse have produced some encouraging findings. The
most reasonable judgment at this point is that the outside air
in Lower Manhattan is safe to breathe and that indoor spaces
that have been properly cleaned are fine as well. The main concern
is a few hot spots outdoors and whether some apartments or offices
need a better cleaning than they have previously received. (New York Times Editorial,
February 22)
- Agency May Gauge Indoor
Air Downtown —
(Daily News, February 22) — Swamped with complaints about
health concerns from people living near Ground Zero, the state-city
agency overseeing the rebuilding of lower Manhattan is considering
establishing a standard to determine when air in apartments is
safe to breathe. "Indoor air quality is the primary concern
for the residents," Paul Crotty, a board member of the Lower
Manhattan Development Corp., said yesterday. Crotty, a liaison
to the board's residents advisory panel, said the agency should
consider hiring a consultant to "harmonize" standards
for indoor air quality.
- NYC Sanitation Department
Admits It Was Slow on Respirators: Crews at Ground Zero and Fresh
Kills Landfill Were Not Given Best Safeguards in Early Days of
Cleanup — (Staten
Island Advance, February 19) — Sanitation officials now
acknowledge that some workers at the Fresh Kills landfill and
Ground Zero did not have respirators as they handled World Trade
Center debris. More than a dozen Sanitation workers and heavy
equipment operators claimed they worked for weeks without proper
safety gear, allegations the Advance first reported Feb. 4. Sanitation
officials initially denied they'd failed to give workers respirators
just after the disaster. Sanitation spokesman Al Ferguson on
Feb. 4 asserted in a written statement that workers "received
respirators the first day of work." For the full text
of this article, reproduced as part of NYCOSH in the News, click here, or to view it on the newspaper's
own website click on:
- Emergency Response: Experts
Train in West Virginia for Crises in Subways — (Daily News, February 17) —
A half-mile inside a West Virginia mountain, in a mining town
with no mass transit, the Defense Department is preparing for
a deadly terrorist attack on New York City's subway system. Behind
thick layers of Appalachian rock, rescuers in lime- green hazardous
materials suits are crawling through narrow voids in an avalanche
of concrete and steel.
- Air Quality Scientists
Release WTC Study
— In the most thorough analysis yet of the dust and
smoke blown through lower Manhattan after the collapse of the
World Trade Center, researchers at UC Davis on Monday described
unprecedented clouds of very fine particles that should be considered
in evaluating rescue workers’ and residents’ health
problems. (Dateline UC Davis, February
15)
- OSHA Starts Random Inspections
Near Ground Zero
— (OccupationalHazards.com, February 13) — Amid continuing
complaints that local and federal officials are not doing enough
to protect workers in the area adjacent to the World Trade Center
(WTC), recently Pat Clark, OSHA's Region Two director, announced
the agency would begin a local emphasis program (LEP) in Lower
Manhattan. Local groups such as the New York Committee for Occupational
Safety and Health (NYCOSH) have charged that many workers cleaning
up debris inside buildings near the former WTC are not wearing
respirators and other personal protective equipment (PPE), despite
the presence of asbestos and other hazards in the material they
are removing.
- Greenpeace concerned about
WTC steel for India
— Environmental activists are concerned about the potential
contamination of almost 30,000 tons of steel scrap from the World
Trade Center wreckage exported to Sabari Exim Private Ltd. in
Chennai. Trade union and environmental groups say if the rest
of the debris from Ground Zero gives an indication, WTC scrap
may be contaminated with carcinogenic asbestos, polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, mercury, lead and other toxic or dangerous
substances. (India Post New Service,
February 15)
- New York City Air Hazards
Found: EPA Assurances Contradicted by University of California
Scientists —
(Sacramento Bee, February 12) — An independent analysis
of air around Ground Zero shows the collapse of the World Trade
Center towers spewed enormous amounts of potentially lethal,
extremely tiny particles unrecognized by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's air monitoring. The ominous findings by scientists
at the University of California, Davis, contradict repeated assurances
by EPA Administrator Christie Whitman that the air around the
wreckage largely was safe to breathe. "They had an unprecedented
situation, and they applied the usual approaches," said
Thomas Cahill, a physicist and international authority on air
pollution who led the study. He released early results Monday
that showed lung-penetrating pollutants in startling concentrations,
about 500 times more than what's in the air on the smoggiest
days in the Sacramento Valley.
- Senator Clinton Outlines 5-Point Plan
to Address Ground Zero Air Quality Concerns — (Press release, February 11)
— At a February 11 Senate field hearing in lower Manhattan,
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton outlined a 5-point plan to address
Ground Zero air quality concerns. The plan includes:
- Passage of legislation to establish
a permanent health monitoring system at disaster sites;
- Funding for long-term health
registry to monitor Ground Zero workers and those who live, go
to school, and work in lower Manhattan;
- Establishment of a World Trade
Center indoor air program to provide more information about the
testing, monitoring, and cleaning of office buildings, residences,
and schools in lower
Manhattan;
- Creation of a World Trade Center
site clean air initiative to reduce harmful emissions from construction
equipment;
- Application of lessons learned
about air quality at Ground Zero to our homeland security plan,
so that the nation can be better prepared to deal with potential
future disasters.
- EPA accused of inaction at WTC — (United Press International,
February 12) — At an emotional hearing Monday in Manhattan,
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., charged the Environmental Protection
Agency has "created a full-scale crisis of public confidence
by not testing indoor areas" following the terrorist attacks.
"It has now been exactly five months since the terrorist
attacks and, unfortunately, the people in Lower Manhattan still
do not know whether or not it is safe to live and work in the
area," said Nadler. "The Environmental Protection Agency
has failed in its mission to protect human health and to safeguard
the natural environment by not exercising its full authority
to test and clean all indoor spaces where people live and work."
- Casting a Dark Cloud Over City, EPA — (Daily News, February 12) —
On Sept. 18, just one week after the World Trade Center collapse,
tens of thousands of office workers near Ground Zero were given
the go-ahead by federal and local safety officials to return
to their jobs. At the time, our government leaders wanted to
return to normal as soon as possible, and especially wanted to
reopen the nation's critical financial markets. On that day,
they got their wish when Christie Whitman, administrator of the
federal Environmental Protection Agency, placed her stamp of
approval on the quality of the air over lower Manhattan. "I
am glad to reassure the people of New York ... that their air
is safe to breathe and their water is safe to drink," Whitman
announced.
- Rep. Jerrold Nadler Slams EPA on Air
Testing
— (Associated
Press, February 11) — U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler charged today
that the federal Environmental Protection Agency created "a
full-scale crisis of public confidence" by assuring New
Yorkers that the air was safe to breathe after Sept. 11. Nadler,
D-N.Y., testified at a Senate subcommittee hearing on air quality
in Lower Manhattan. He said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman
misled the public when she said on Sept. 18 that she was "glad
to reassure the people of New York that ... their air is safe
to breathe and their water is safe to drink."
- Trade Center Air Held Unprecedented Amounts
of Very Fine Particles, Silicon, Sulfates, Metals, Say UC Davis
Scientists —
(University of California press release, February 11) —
In the most thorough analysis yet of the dust and smoke blown
through lower Manhattan after the collapse of the World Trade
Center, researchers at the University of California, Davis, today
described unprecedented clouds of very fine particles that should
be considered in evaluating rescue workers' and residents' health
problems. Based on their findings, the UC Davis researchers also
recommended specific cleaning methods for contaminated apartments,
offices, schools and other indoor spaces. "No one has ever
reported a situation like the one we see in the World Trade Center
samples," said UC Davis researcher Thomas Cahill, Ph.D.,
an international authority on the constituents and transport
of airborne particles. "The air from Ground Zero was laden
with extremely high amounts of very small particles, probably
associated with high temperatures in the underground debris pile.
Normally, in New York City and in most of the world, situations
like this just don't exist."
- Roiling Dust Cloud Filled USGS Scientists
with a Sense of Urgency —(St.
Louis Post-Dispatch, February 10) — Chemists, geophysicists,
astrophysicists and other scientists cloistered in the sprawling
U.S. Geological Survey complex here are not emergency responders.
Their work is detailed, methodical, with little room for haste
or need for spontaneity. They track water poisoned by mining,
search for cracks in the Earth's crust, and explore for minerals
on Mars and Saturn. But when a terrorist attack leveled the World
Trade Center on Sept. 11, that all changed.
- Government
Withhold Data on Dangers in NYC Dust — (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 10)
— Even as the dust from the collapsed World Trade Center
was still settling, top government scientists were determining
that the smoky gray mixture was highly corrosive and potentially
a serious danger to health. The U.S. Geological Survey team found
that some of the dust was as caustic as liquid drain cleaner
and alerted all government agencies involved in the emergency
response. But many of those on the front lines of protecting
the health of the public and workers cleaning up the site say
they never got the information. For the full text of this
article, reproduced as part of NYCOSH in the News, click here, or to view it on the newspaper's own
website click on:
- NYC Faces Trade Center Lawsuits: Firefighters,
Property Owners Among Those Suing City For $7 Billion — (Associated Press, February 8)
— From rescue workers who say they have lung problems to
business owners who say their shops were damaged, 1,300 people
have given notice they may sue the city for a total of $7.18
billion over the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack.
The claims involve injuries or damage caused not by the attack
itself but by the alleged negligence of the city during the recovery
and cleanup. The vast majority are from firefighters who say
the city gave them inadequate respiratory protection at the smoldering
trade center site.
- Anxieties over toxins rise at Ground
Zero — (USA Today, February
7)
- NY City Workers Didn't Get Respirators:
State Probing Health Practices at Landfill, where Workers Say
the Lack of Safety Equipment Early in WTC Clean-Up Has Left Them
with Health Problems
— (Staten Island Advance, February 4)
- Legal Aid Office Adjacent to World Trade
Center Contaminated
— (New York Law Journal, February 1) — Legal Aid Society's
offices, adjacent to the destroyed World Trade Center, are so
contaminated with asbestos, mercury and other poisons that the
building's interior will have to be stripped to the slab, cleaned
and rebuilt.
For links material published
before February 1, 2002, click
here.
Compensation
- 9/11 Workers' Comp Claims
Hit 5,800 —
The state has fielded 5,800 claims for workers' compensation
in connection with the World Trade Center attacks, and still
more are expected. (Daily News, April 24)
- Bill: Workers' Comp For
WTC Laborers —
Albany - A new bill in the State Legislature would extend workers'
compensation benefits to rescue and recovery personnel at the
World Trade Center in an effort to deal with any long-term health
affects from debris. "All
those clean-up workers are experiencing these other-than-normal
infections, and it was the result of some unique work,"
said State Sen. Guy Velella, (R-Bronx) chairman of the Senate's
labor committee. "If they do happen to be contaminated,
they should certainly be covered." For the full text
of this article, reproduced as part of NYCOSH in the News, click
here. (Associated Press, April 8)
- Helping Handbook: Legal
Resources for Families of Victims of the World Trade Center Disaster
(Association of the
Bar of the City of New York, March 2002)
- September 11th Victim
Compensation Fund of 2001; Law, Final Rule and Other Documents
— (U.S. Department
of Justice, March 7, 2002)
- Are Toxic Lawsuits in
the Air After Sept. 11? Federal fund may provide little help — At the same time that the Justice
Department puts the finishing touches on a controversial program
to compensate families of Sept. 11 victims, lawyers are starting
to ask about another group of potential victims: What happens
to the unknown number of people who may become ill from breathing
toxic chemicals thrown into the air by the collapse and cleanup
of New York's World Trade Center? The question is the focus of
urgent scientific study, with little consensus so far. And lawyers
say the legal picture is just as cloudy. While a handful of people
will be able to make claims on the federal fund, many more do
not qualify, at least as the current rules stand. (National Law Journal, February
20)
- NYCOSH Comment Concerning
Interim Final Rules of the September 11th Victim Compensation
Fund of September 11 —
Anyone who sustained a disabling injury as a result of the September
11 attack ought to be eligible for federal compensation. It is
completely unreasonable to deny such compensation to anyone who
sustained a disabling injury, but did not obtain medical services
within 24 hours of being injured.
For links material published
before February 1, 2002, click
here.
Government resources
(FOR OFFICIAL
INFORMATION ON A SINGLE SUBJECT, SUCH AS ASBESTOS OR COMPENSATION,
SEE THE SUBJECT)
- Lower Manhattan Dust Cleanup
[En
Español]
— Lower Manhattan residents who live south of Canal, Allen
and Pike Streets can request cleaning and/or testing from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They can also be
reimbursed up to $300 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) for the purchase of a HEPA filter vacuum. Requests for
these services can be registered via the EPA
Web page or by calling EPA's World Trade Center hotline,
1-877-796-5471. (EPA Press Release)
- Protecting Workers at
the World Trade Center Site: Response from the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health — The terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001 exposed rescue and recovery workers to unprecedented levels
of risk for job-related injury, illness, and death. The National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a part
of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
responded swiftly to address workers' needs in the aftermath
of the attacks. NIOSH quickly sent to Ground Zero dozens of staff
who applied their technical expertise to help meet immediate
worker protection needs. Also, by helping workers and supervisors
build their own safety and health capacity, NIOSH was able to
enhance safety at the sprawling site. In the aftermath, NIOSH
is working with its partners to address concerns about potential
long-term effects on workers' health and to help protect workers
in the event of future emergencies.
- Comprehensive Plan to
Address the Concerns of Lower Manhattan Residents about the Impacts
of the WTC Collapse on Indoor Air Quality — EPA and its federal, state and
city partners have announced a comprehensive plan to ensure that
apartments impacted by the collapse of the World Trade Center
have been properly cleaned. The plan -- covering Manhattan residential
units south of Canal Street and the Manhattan Bridge approach,
river to river -- was developed by the multi-agency Task Force
on Indoor Air in Lower Manhattan created by EPA Administrator
Christie Whitman. (EPA
announcement, May 8)
- NIOSH Air Sample Results
for the World Trade Center Disaster Response — From September 18 through October
4, 2001, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) personnel (and contractors) collected air samples in
areas immediately adjacent to the debris pile and on personnel
actively involved in rescue efforts on or in the vicinity of
the debris pile to characterize occupational exposures during
the disaster response at the World Trade Center site in New York
City, NY. This report is a compilation of sampling efforts that
were undertaken over the course of providing technical assistance
to the New York City Department of Health (NYCDOH), and were
used to identify potential hazards and to recommend appropriate
protective measures where needed for the workers whose exposures
were sampled. (NIOSH website, May 1)
- Statement by Speaker Sheldon
Silver at Assembly Hearing on Concerns of Residents and Workers
Regarding Air Quality in Lower Manhattan — The September 11 attack on New
York -- an enormous tragedy on so many levels -- was without
question, an unprecedented environmental disaster. Dust from
the collapsed tower buildings, the fires that burned at Ground
Zero for so long, the diesel engines being used in the cleanup
effort have, as we know from independent studies, added a variety
of potentially lethal substances - including mercury, lead, asbestos
and pulverized glass - to the air that we breathe. (Press release, April 12)
- Rep. Jerrold Nadler Gives
Testimony
at April 12 New York State Assembly Hearing on Lower Manhattan
Air Quality, Releases Revised
Version of White Paper on Lower Manhattan Air Quality, April
12.
- National
Ombudsman World Trade Center Hazardous Waste Case - Findings
to Date, Recommendations to Date, and Second Round of Interrogatories
— Memo to EPA
Region II Administrator
(March 27)
- New York OSHA E-Newsletter
—
Vol. 1, Issue 1 Contents:
- The R.A.'s Corner
- WTC OSHA Facts
- OSHA's Manhattan Area Office:
People Safe, Office Lost
- New OSHA Recordkeeping Rule
Is in Effect
- OSHA's Steel Erection Standard
- World Trade Center Disaster:
What is OSHA's Role?
- OSHA Identifies New York Workplaces
with Highest Injury and Illness Rates
- U.S.
Rep. Nadler Criticizes EPA's Continued Evasion of Cleanup Responsibility — Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) today
rebuked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its continued
evasion of its responsibility to act in accordance with laws
and policies mandating it to clean up sites contaminated by acts
of terrorism and its disregard for the residents of Lower Manhattan.
In response to a press release issued
today by the agency, Rep. Nadler again called on the EPA to "come
clean about its utterly inadequate response and proceed swiftly
to clean up both the inside and outside of buildings in Lower
Manhattan."
The EPA press release announced that New York City Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP), with EPA guidance, will remove
debris from rooftops and facades. The agencies also announced
that they "will work to build on an indoor air study conducted
in November and December." When contacted, the EPA did not
provide immediate details on how the indoor air study will be
expanded.
"Once again, the EPA is ignoring indoor areas where people
live and work. As for the indoor air study, we have yet to learn
the details of what was done in November and December, let alone
what will be done today," said Rep. Nadler. "I fail
to see why the EPA needs to do a study anyway, when it is clear
from the National Contingency Plan and from Presidential Directives
that the EPA has the mandate to coordinate all response efforts
taken to remediate hazardous materials, including contamination
inside buildings."
"I cannot understand why the Administration is letting the
plight of the residents of Ground Zero fall on deaf ears,"
he added.
The National Contingency Plan is authorized by the CERCLA statute
(42 USC §9604), and provides the framework for EPA's response
to the release of hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants.
Commenting on EPA Regional Administrator Kenny's statement in
the press release that "Actions speak louder than words..."
Rep. Nadler said, "When it comes to the needs of the residents
and workers who have been victims of the terrorist attack, the
EPA refuses even to mouth the right words, let alone perform
any actions on indoor environments that would ensure the health
and safety of people living and working in and around Ground
Zero."
Rep. Nadler pointed out that in a speech delivered by EPA Administrator
Christine Todd Whitman in November 2001, she acknowledged the
EPA's responsibility for cleanup of buildings contaminated in
a terrorist attack.
Under the Presidential Decision Directive 62, signed by then-President
Clinton in 1998, she said, "the EPA is assigned lead responsibility
for cleaning up buildings and other sites contaminated by chemical
or biological agents as a result of an act of terrorism."
"If Administrator Whitman was so clear on the duties and
responsibilities in November 2001, why did she not enforce them
two months earlier, and why does the EPA continue to shirk its
duties more than six months after the attack," asked Rep.
Nadler.
Rep. Nadler was elected to Congress in 1992. He represents the
8th Congressional District in New York, which includes parts
of Manhattan and Brooklyn, including the area now known as Ground
Zero. (Office of Rep. Jerrold Nadler Press Release, March 25)
- Federal,
State And City Agencies Announce Actions For Lower Manhattan
Air Quality —
Today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along
with New York City and other federal and state agencies, announced
additional actions to address outdoor and indoor air quality.
As part of the overall effort to continue to protect air quality,
DEP will remove residual debris from rooftops and facades with
EPA's guidance. OSHA will work in a coordinated effort with the
City and EPA to ensure the safety and health of the workers performing
this cleaning.
EPA and New York City will expand the program to remove residual
debris from rooftops and facades around the World Trade Center
site. In addition, agencies will work to build on an indoor air
study conducted in November and December. These actions are a
result of the collaborative efforts of the EPA Administrator
Christie Whitman's Task Force on Indoor Air and New York City
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Lower Manhattan Air Quality Task Force.
"Actions speak louder than words, and these actions will
help increase confidence about outdoor and indoor air quality,"
said Jane Kenny, EPA Regional Administrator. "We have been
working hand-in-hand with the city to resolve the public's health
concerns."
"I am extremely pleased that EPA continues to work with
the City to address concerns regarding air quality in Lower Manhattan,"
said incoming DEP Commissioner Christopher Ward.
Tests conducted since September 11th have indicated that there
is no evidence of significant long-term health risks to residents
and office workers from the air quality in Lower Manhattan. Inspectors
from the City and EPA have surveyed area rooftops and facades
identifying buildings where residual debris remains. As removal
of debris from the World Trade Center site nears completion,
City, State and Federal agencies are committed to continuing
to protect and improve the downtown environment.
City, state and federal health and environmental agencies are
working collaboratively to continue to assess the cleaning that
was conducted and determine testing criteria. Building on earlier
tests, EPA will conduct field work to assess cleanup techniques
and provide information for ongoing cleaning. The Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, with support from the
New York City Department of Health and EPA, is planning to expand
the indoor air study conducted in December 2001.
As these projects are developed, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) will fund components that are eligible under its
programs. As the agency responsible for coordinating federal
assistance in support of the city's long term recovery efforts,
FEMA is working closely with all concerned agencies.
Both the EPA and New York City Task Forces will work cooperatively
to continue to protect air quality. The Lower Manhattan Air Quality
Hotline (212-221-8635) will continue to be the principal point
of information dissemination to businesses, residents and visitors
regarding air quality and environmental issues in and around
the World Trade Center site. The City's Task Force will also
coordinate additional community outreach and local initiatives
as part of the broader effort to build public confidence in the
downtown environment.
For more information, call the City's Lower Manhattan Air Quality
Hotline at 212-221-8635 between 11:00 am and 7:00 pm Monday through
Friday. In addition, information can be found on EPA's web site
at: www.epa.gov; OSHA's web
site at: www.osha.gov; NYC DOH's web site at: www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doh/home.htm;
and NYCDEP's web site at:
www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/airmonit.html.
(EPA Press Release, March 25)
- Report Offers Guidance
and Recommendations on Safety of Emergency Responders in Terrorist
Events — Many
emergency response workers do not believe that they are adequately
prepared to respond to a major disaster such as the World Trade
Center attack or the anthrax scare, according to a new report
of worker input funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention's (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH), published March 21.
- Rep. Nadler Issues First
'White Paper' on Disgraceful and Illegal EPA Response to Post-9/11
Air Quality Issues in Lower Manhattan: Demands New Information
from EPA Administrator Whitman and Announces EPA National Ombudsman's
Second Investigative Hearing
(March 13)
- Recommendations for Motorists
in the Area Affected by the World Trade Center Disaster — NYCOSH strongly
recommends against following the advice in this undated document
published by the New York City Department of Health. It is dangerous
for anyone and illegal for an employer to direct an employee
to clean up asbestos-contaminated dust inside a car while wearing
"a dust mask, preferably one that is double-banded."
- Air Quality in New York
City after the September 11, 2001 Attacks, Hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on
Clean Air, Wetlands, and Climate Change of the Committee on Environment
and Public Works, Part 1, February 11, 2002
- Air Quality in New York
City after the September 11, 2001 Attacks, Hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on
Clean Air, Wetlands, and Climate Change of the Committee on Environment
and Public Works, Part 2, February 11, 2002
- Impact of the September 11th Attack on
Air Quality and Public Health in Lower Manhattan — Testimony of Rep. Jerrold Nadler,
February 11, 2002
- NYCOSH Response to NYC Department of Health Feb.
8 press release:
"Findings from Indoor Air Sampling in Lower Manhattan"
(there is a link to the NYCDOH press release immediately below)
- NYC Department of Health Presents Findings
from Indoor Air Sampling in Lower Manhattan:
Analysis of Air Samples Taken from Residential Buildings in Lower
Manhattan Indicates No Elevation of Asbestos in Air. Low Levels
of Asbestos and Some Fiberglass Found in Dust Samples. DOH Reminds
Residents of Importance of Cleaning to Reduce Dust. (NYCDOH Press
Office, February 8)
For links material published
before February 1, 2002, click
here.
News features
- Characterization of the
Dust/Smoke Aerosol that Settled East of the World Trade Center
(WTC) in Lower Manhattan after the Collapse of the WTC 11 September
2001 — The explosion
and collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) was a catastrophic
event that produced an aerosol plume impacting many workers,
residents, and commuters during the first few days after 11 September
2001. Three bulk samples of the total settled dust and smoke
were collected at weather-protected locations east of the WTC
on 16 and 17 September 2001; these samples are representative
of the generated material that settled immediately after the
explosion and fire and the concurrent collapse of the two structures.
We analyzed each sample, not differentiated by particle size,
for inorganic and organic composition. In the inorganic analyses,
we identified metals, radionuclides, ionic species, asbestos,
and inorganic species. In the organic analyses, we identified
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls,
polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans,
pesticides, phthalate esters, brominated diphenyl ethers, and
other hydrocarbons. Each sample had a basic pH. Asbestos levels
ranged from 0.8% to 3.0% of the mass, the PAHs were > 0.1%
of the mass, and lead ranged from 101 to 625 µg/g. The
content and distribution of material was indicative of a complex
mixture of building debris and combustion products in the resulting
plume. These three samples were composed primarily of construction
materials, soot, paint (leaded and unleaded), and glass fibers
(mineral wool and fiberglass). Levels of hydrocarbons indicated
unburned or partially burned jet fuel, plastic, cellulose, and
other materials that were ignited by the fire. In morphologic
analyses we found that a majority of the mass was fibrous and
composed of many types of fibers (e.g., mineral wool, fiberglass,
asbestos, wood, paper, and cotton). The particles were separated
into size classifications by gravimetric and aerodynamic methods.
Material < 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter was 0.88-1.98%
of the total mass. The largest mass concentrations were >
53 µm in diameter. The results obtained from these samples
can be used to understand the contact and types of exposures
to this unprecedented complex mixture experienced by the surviving
residents, commuters, and rescue workers directly affected by
the plume from 11 to 12 September and the evaluations of any
acute or long-term health effects from resuspendable dust and
smoke to the residents, commuters, and local workers, as well
as from the materials released after 11 September until the fires
were extinguished. Further, these results support the need to
have the interior of residences, buildings, and their respective
HVAC systems professionally cleaned to reduce long-term residential
risks before rehabitation. (Environmental Health Perspectives,
July 2002)
- Occupational Exposures
to Air Contaminants at the World Trade Center Disaster Site,
New York, September - October, 2001 — Amid concerns about the fires and suspected
presence of toxic materials in the rubble pile following the
collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) buildings on September
11, 2001, the New York City Department of Health (NYCDOH) asked
CDC for assistance in evaluating occupational exposures at the
site. CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) collected general area (GA) and personal breathing zone
(PBZ) air samples for numerous potential air contaminants. This
report summarizes the results of the assessment, which indicate
that most exposures, including asbestos, did not exceed NIOSH
recommended exposure limits (RELs) or Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limits (PELs).
(Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report, May 31)
- Cleaning Up After 9/11:
Respirators, Power and Politics — Under the extraordinary pressures of the
World Trade Center rescue and cleanup operations, was worker
health added to the list of victims? The Sept. 11 attack on the
World Trade Center horrified the nation and the world: 2,800
civilians died in the conflagration, and the subsequent collapse
of the WTC buildings created what was probably the most dangerous
emergency response, rescue and recovery effort in U.S. history.
This disaster and the ensuing fires released thousands of tons
of matter - much of it hazardous - into the atmosphere. As the
horrors of that day recede, many in the safety and health community
are taking a closer look at how well workers were protected as
they labored near the former WTC. For the full text of
this article, reproduced as part of NYCOSH in the News, click
here, or to view it on the magazine's own website click on:
(Occupational Hazards, May
10)
- World Trade Center Worker
and Environmental Health and Safety Issues — A presentation by NYCOSH Industrial
Hygienist Dave Newman at the March 14, 2002, Hunter College conference
"The Public Health Impact of September 11th."
- Lower Manhattan Occupational
& Environmental Health Concerns in the Aftermath of the Attack
on the WTC —
NYCOSH testimony to the New York City Council Joint Meeting of
Committees on Health, the Environment, and Lower Manhattan Redevelopment,
March 8, 2002
- Ground Zero: Testimony
before the Environmental Protection Committee of the New York
City Council —
By Steven Markowitz, MD, Director, Center for the Biology of
Natural Systems, Queens College, March 8, 2002
- Toxic Haste: New York's Media Rush to
Judgment on New York's Air — (American Prospect, February 25)
- The Environmental Impacts
of the World Trade Center Attacks: A Preliminary Assessment — (Natural Resources Defense Council,
February) — The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on
the World Trade Center constitute perhaps the worst episode in
the history of New York City. The death toll of nearly 3,000
persons is greater by far than any other New York calamity. Indeed,
with the exception of the Civil War battle of Antietam, more
lives were lost on September 11th than on any other day in the
nation's history. September 11th also caused huge economic dislocations
to the city and the nation. According to the New York City Comptroller's
Office, the economic cost to the city in just the current and
next fiscal years could be as high as $90 to $105 billion. And,
as if all this were not enough, the events of September 11th
resulted in a significant environmental health emergency, particularly
for those who live and work in Lower Manhattan.
- The Real Heroes Are Dead
— (New Yorker,
February 11) — A moving examination of the life of corporate
security official Rick Rescorla, and his actions on September
11.
- Potential Contaminants
in World Trade Center Debris (CorpWatch Issue Library, February 6)
For links material published
before February 1, 2002, click
here.
Occupational safety and health resources
- Characterization of the
Dust/Smoke Aerosol that Settled East of the World Trade Center
(WTC) in Lower Manhattan after the Collapse of the WTC 11 September
2001 — The explosion
and collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) was a catastrophic
event that produced an aerosol plume impacting many workers,
residents, and commuters during the first few days after 11 September
2001. Three bulk samples of the total settled dust and smoke
were collected at weather-protected locations east of the WTC
on 16 and 17 September 2001; these samples are representative
of the generated material that settled immediately after the
explosion and fire and the concurrent collapse of the two structures.
We analyzed each sample, not differentiated by particle size,
for inorganic and organic composition. In the inorganic analyses,
we identified metals, radionuclides, ionic species, asbestos,
and inorganic species. In the organic analyses, we identified
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls,
polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans,
pesticides, phthalate esters, brominated diphenyl ethers, and
other hydrocarbons. Each sample had a basic pH. Asbestos levels
ranged from 0.8% to 3.0% of the mass, the PAHs were > 0.1%
of the mass, and lead ranged from 101 to 625 µg/g. The
content and distribution of material was indicative of a complex
mixture of building debris and combustion products in the resulting
plume. These three samples were composed primarily of construction
materials, soot, paint (leaded and unleaded), and glass fibers
(mineral wool and fiberglass). Levels of hydrocarbons indicated
unburned or partially burned jet fuel, plastic, cellulose, and
other materials that were ignited by the fire. In morphologic
analyses we found that a majority of the mass was fibrous and
composed of many types of fibers (e.g., mineral wool, fiberglass,
asbestos, wood, paper, and cotton). The particles were separated
into size classifications by gravimetric and aerodynamic methods.
Material < 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter was 0.88-1.98%
of the total mass. The largest mass concentrations were >
53 µm in diameter. The results obtained from these samples
can be used to understand the contact and types of exposures
to this unprecedented complex mixture experienced by the surviving
residents, commuters, and rescue workers directly affected by
the plume from 11 to 12 September and the evaluations of any
acute or long-term health effects from resuspendable dust and
smoke to the residents, commuters, and local workers, as well
as from the materials released after 11 September until the fires
were extinguished. Further, these results support the need to
have the interior of residences, buildings, and their respective
HVAC systems professionally cleaned to reduce long-term residential
risks before rehabitation. (Environmental Health Perspectives,
July 2002)
World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program
— A project of the Mount Sinai-Irving J. Selikoff
Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine to screen
workers and volunteers who performed rescue and recovery work,
including the restoration of essential services at the World
Trade Center or at the Staten Island Landfill in the wake of
September 11.
- Responding to Chemical,
Biological, or Nuclear Terrorism: The Indirect and Long-Term
Health Effects May Present the Greatest Challenge — The possibility of terrorists
employing chemical, biological, or nuclear/radiological (CBN)
materials has been a concern since 1995 when sarin gas was dispersed
in a Tokyo subway. Contingency planning almost exclusively involved
detection, containment, and emergency health care for mass casualties.
However, it is clear that even small-scale CBN incidents—like
the recent spread of anthrax spores through the mail—can
cause widespread confusion, fear, and psychological stress that
have lasting effects on the health of affected communities and
on a nation’s sense of well-being. More emphasis therefore
needs to be placed on indirect effects and on the medical, social,
economic, and legal consequences that follow months to years
afterward. To respond effectively to CBN attacks, a comprehensive
strategy needs to be developed that includes not only emergency
response, but also long-term health care, risk communication,
research, and economic assistance. Organizing an effective response
challenges government institutions because the issues involved—eligibility
for health care, the effects of low-level exposure to toxic agents,
stress-related illnesses, unlicensed therapeutics, financial
compensation—are complex and controversial. (Journal of Health Politics,
Policy and Law, April 2002)
- Public health, not air
quality, is at risk in lower Manhattan — Among the hundreds of
building clean-up workers that we examined, rarely were they
provided with adequate personal protective equipment, including
respirators, for their work near Ground Zero. Common sense would
dictate that, in the absence of knowing what exactly was in the
voluminous dust in the office buildings next to Ground Zero,
that clean-up employers would err on the side of caution and
provide their workforce with properly fitting respirators, that
is, just in case the dust was indeed toxic. This did not happen.
(Center
for the Biology of Natural Systems, Testimony at March 8 City
Council hearing)
- World Trade Center Hazmat
Emergency Management Team (International
Union of Operating Engineers)
For links material published
before February 1, 2002, click
here.
Psychological trauma
- Counseling Sought For
FDNY — New York
City's paramedics union called on the Fire Department yesterday
to implement mandatory counseling for those who worked at Ground
Zero. The call came in the wake of two suicides by paramedics
who worked extensively at Ground Zero, one in January and the
other on June 7. (Newsday, June 12)
- City Students Feeling
Trauma Months After Sept. 11 —
About 200,000 public school students across the city still are
experiencing serious mental health problems six months after
Sept. 11, according to a study commissioned by the Board of Education.
(Newsday, May 2)
- Post-9/11 Pain Found to
Linger in Young Minds
— Tens of thousands of public-school children in New York
City are experiencing chronic nightmares, fear of public places,
severe anxiety and other mental health problems months after
the World Trade Center attack, a study conducted for the Board
of Education has found. (New York Times, May
2)
- We Must Help Our Nation's
Heroes —
Since September 11, 2001, we can all see more clearly than ever
how important it is to prepare our emergency workers to respond
to a terrorist attack. Unfortunately, when our leaders at the
federal, state, and local levels think about preparing emergency
workers to deal with a gruesome attack, they nearly always focus
on how a government agency can outfit them with the latest equipment.
They often forget how important it is to prepare emergency workers
to deal with the emotional trauma that can arise from witnessing
a horrendous event firsthand. (National Academies Op-Ed
Service, April 5)
- Public health, not air
quality, is at risk in lower Manhattan Among the hundreds of building clean-up
workers that we examined, rarely were they provided with adequate
personal protective equipment, including respirators, for their
work near Ground Zero. Common sense would dictate that, in the
absence of knowing what exactly was in the voluminous dust in
the office buildings next to Ground Zero, that clean-up employers
would err on the side of caution and provide their workforce
with properly fitting respirators, that is, just in case the
dust was indeed toxic. This did not happen. (Center for the Biology
of Natural Systems, Testimony at March 8 City Council hearing)
- The World Trade Center Survivor Treatment
Program —
(Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry)
If you or someone you know was psychologically traumatized on
September 11and has symptoms that have persisted for several
weeks, please call our program at (718) 584-9000 extension 6971.
Help is available.
- The Psychological Impact of Disaster — (Mount Sinai School
of Medicine, Department of Community and Preventive Medicine)
For links material published
before February 1, 2002, click
here.
For reference material
on job-related psychological hazards and health, click
here.
Occupational and environmental
safety and health hazards have an effect on everyone, going far
beyond the concerns resulting from the World Trade Center catastrophe
or bioterrorism. For more information on the identification,
control and elimination of workplace and workplace-related hazards,
and to learn more about the struggle to ensure that every workplace
is safe and healthful, please explore the our extensive website
and its 2000 links to other Internet resources on the subject.
To visit our site map, please click
here.
The “This page was last updated on” line just below reflects the date on which this page was transferred to this redesigned website. The information in this page (as opposed to the design) was last updated on March 4, 2003.
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