Cyrus Dugger

Ground Zero ‘Clean-up’ Plan ‘Designed to Find Nothing’

Ground Zero ‘Clean-up’ Plan ‘Designed to Find Nothing’ by Michelle Chen

Jan. 18 – Mowing over protests from New York City residents, workers and public-health advocates, the federal government has rolled out a plan to clean up pollution left behind by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Various community and environmental organizations, unions, and state elected officials say the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) program, which follows half a decade of scientific investigations, political wrangling and mounting public frustration, ignores major concerns about toxins still lurking at Ground Zero.

The clean-up program, which began its enrollment period for community members on Tuesday, is designed to address four types of pollutants left over from the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings: asbestos, lead, airborne toxins known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and fiberglass-type materials. Residents and businesses can volunteer to have dust and air in indoor spaces tested, and the Agency says it will deal with contamination that is found to exceed certain levels.

In its announcement of the plan, the EPA asserted that since most occupied indoor spaces in the area “have been repeatedly cleaned in the five years since 9/11, EPA scientists say the potential for exposure to dust that may remains… is low.” The agency has defended its plan as the most-comprehensive effort possible based on available data. (link)

Posted at 5:23 PM, Jan 18, 2007 in Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)