EPA Begins Final Lower Manhattan Testing

In the final phase of its response to the events of Sept, 11, 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is beginning a $7 million program to test indoor spaces in Lower Manhattan.

"The vast majority of occupied residential and commercial spaces in Lower Manhattan have been repeatedly cleaned, and we believe the potential for exposure related to dust that may remain from the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings is low," says Dr. George M. Gray, assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Research and Development. "The Test and Clean Program offers participants a way to get information about the possible presence of contaminants in their homes and buildings."

The program will allow residents and building owners to have the air and dust in their units tested for four contaminants associated with dust from the collapse of the World Trade Center. Priority for testing will be based on a property's proximity to the World Trade Center site. Through sampling results, EPA will provide information to people who live and work in Lower Manhattan about levels of certain contaminants in their homes or buildings.

If analysis of dust and air samples finds elevated levels of any of four contaminants of concern - asbestos, man-made vitreous fibers such as fiberglass, lead, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - the contaminants will be cleaned up. The Agency will open the two-month registration period in January 2007. Testing of interior spaces is expected to begin in the spring.

Under the program announced today, local residents and owners of commercial or residential buildings closest to Ground Zero will receive priority for testing and cleaning if registration for the program is high. The program is limited to $7 million provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

For a complete description of the EPA Test and Clean Program, go to http://www.epa.gov/wtc/testandclean .

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