|
Air Today . . . Gone Tomorrow Article Critics: $100
million dust-cleaning might not help those most at risk
By Michael Weissenstein, Associated Press Writer, May
14, 2002
NEW YORK -- The government could spend $100 million or more to clean
downtown apartments of dust from the World Trade Center collapse, but critics say the
program may come months too late to help those who were at greatest risk. "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."
Federal and city environmental officials announced last week that they
would spend unlimited funds to professionally clean and test air quality in the apartment
of any resident who requests the work. Samples of the dust that settled after the trade
center collapse show varying amounts of asbestos, fiberglass and caustic concrete powder.
Labor advocates said this week that federal and city agencies left
workers unnecessarily exposed for months. Hundreds of cleaning workers - many of whom
worked with inadequate protective gear - have reported respiratory ailments and other
problems after cleaning dust-laden offices and apartments. Those laborers face a slightly
elevated risk of asbestos-related cancer in coming decades, scientists said.
Much cleanup work finished months ago - while government agencies were
issuing conflicting and often reassuring assessments of risks posed by the dust.
The Environmental Protection Agency has not estimated an overall cost
for the new cleanup program, spokeswoman Mary Mears said. But industry officials said
professional asbestos abatement could cost an average of $4,000 per apartment. The agency
also is offering air testing and high-efficiency vacuum cleaners, which together could
cost an additional $800 per apartment, on average.
Census figures show 23,700 occupied housing units below Canal Street,
which could drive overall costs as high as $113 million if every resident asked for
cleaning, testing and a vacuum cleaner. Mears noted the agency believes far fewer than
23,000 apartment dwellers will request cleanup so the cost will be well below the top
estimates. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has pledged unlimited funds to the
cleanup effort.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton asked FEMA in a letter Tuesday to expand
the cleaning program to include small businesses and a reimbursement program for residents
who already have paid cleanup costs out of pocket. Whatever the cost, scientists and EPA
officials say the remaining dust poses little health risk.
For downtown residents, the risk of asbestos-related cancer is not much
greater than that for the general population, said Dr. Stephen Levin, medical director of
the Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Mount
Sinai School of Medicine.
EPA officials say the program is designed mainly to reassure jittery
residents that their homes are safe. "What the scientists have been telling us is,
'Very low risk, even over a long period of time,"' EPA regional administrator Jane
Kenny said. "Really what we're trying to do is to make people in lower Manhattan feel
that they're living in a good place and that they're safe in their homes."
Some critics say that cleaning potentially thousands of apartments that
might not contain hazardous dust will draw funds from more deserving programs. "They
should establish some procedure for testing first and then making a determination of
whether that place requires a specialized cleanup," said Kenneth Green, chief
scientist of the Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation, a market-oriented think tank.
"For the sake of dealing with the problem effectively and efficiently you need to
have some sort of scientific, risk-based basis for this."
The agency said last week that there were roughly 15,000 apartments in
the affected area below Canal Street. Mears said Tuesday that miscommunication between
city and federal agencies led the agency to underestimate the number.
FAIR USE NOTICE
This article contains copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been
specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available in my efforts to advance understanding of democracy, economic,
environmental, human rights, political, scientific, and social justice issues,
among others. I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted
material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance
with Title 17 U.S.C. Section
107, the material in this article is distributed without profit for research
and educational purposes. Take me back to learn more |
|
|