EPA'S RESPONSE TO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER COLLAPSE:  CHALLENGES, SUCCESSES, AND AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

by United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Inspector General

Table of Contents

• Opening Pages
• Executive Summary
• 1 Introduction
  • Purpose
  • Background
  • Scope and Methodology
• 2 EPA Statements About Air Quality Not Adequately Qualified
  • Communicating Information to the Public Critical
  • What EPA Said in Its Major Public Communications
  • Data Available at the Time Did Not Fully Support EPA Press Releases
  • Council on Environmental Quality Influenced EPA Press Releases
  • September 13 Press Release Also Revised to Eliminate Cautionary Statements
  • Recent Conclusions About WTC Air Quality
  • Recent Developments
  • Conclusions
  • Recommendation
  • Agency Comments and OIG Evaluation
• 3 EPA’s Response to Indoor Environment Consistent With Statutes and Regulations But May Have Delayed Needed Health Protection
  • Concerns Expressed Regarding Indoor Contamination Response
  • Responses to Indoor Contamination
  • EPA Statutory and Regulatory Authority for Indoor Environment
  • Prior Responses to Releases of Hazardous Substances
  • Conclusions
  • Recommendations
  • Agency and New York City Comments and OIG Evaluation
• 4 Asbestos Emission Control Work Practices Inconsistent
  • Application of NESHAP Demolition and Renovation Regulations to the WTC Disaster
  • Asbestos Work Practices Used in the WTC Complex Demolition
  • Asbestos Still in Many U.S. Buildings
    Conclusions
  • Recommendations
  • Agency and New York City Comments and OIG Evaluation
• 5 Air Quality-Related Communications Not Effective in  Getting Public and Workers to Take Recommended Precautions
  • NYCDOH Survey Found Residents Wanted More Air Quality Information  and Did Not Use Recommended Cleaning Procedures
    Telephone Poll Indicated Public Did Not Believe Air Was Safe
  • Unprotected Workers Cleaned Contaminated Offices and Residences
  • Ground Zero Workers May Not Have Received Sufficient Information
  • Recent Developments
  • Conclusions
  • Recommendation
  • Agency and New York City Comments and OIG Evaluation
• 6  Further Actions Needed to Address Current WTC Response
  • WTC Outdoor Monitoring Ended June 2002
  • Indoor Residential Cleanup Program
  • Actions Can Be Taken to Provide Additional Assurance That Indoor Cleanup Is Protective of Human Health
  • Conclusions
  • Recommendations
  • Agency and New York City Comments and OIG Evaluation
• 7  EPA Should Continue Efforts to Improve Contingency Planning
  • Various Actions Initiated
  • OIG Observations for Improving Emergency Response
  • Contingency Planning
  • Risk Assessment and Characterization
  • Risk Communication
  • EPA Actions to Improve Its Communications
  • Recent Developments
    Conclusions
  • Recommendations
    Agency Comments and OIG Evaluation
• Appendices
  • A  Federal Agencies Responding to the WTC Collapse
  • B Details on Scope and Methodology
  • C EPA September 18, 2001 Press Release
  • D Screening Levels Used by EPA to Assess Outdoor Air Quality
  • E EPA Outdoor Air Asbestos Sampling for September 2001
  • F  EPA Outdoor Bulk Dust Asbestos Test Results for September 2001
  • G  EPA September 16, 2001 Press Release
  • H  EPA September 13, 2001 Press Release
  • I  Non-Governmental Environmental Experts Interviewed
  • J  NYCDEP October 25, 2001 Instructions to Residents
  • K  Indoor Air and Dust Test Results
  • L  Details on Use of Respirators at Ground Zero
  • M  Cleaning Procedures for Residents Opting to Have Their Residences Cleaned
  • N  Details from EPA and Non-EPA Lessons Learned Reports
  • O  Details on Health-Based Benchmarks Needed
  • P  EPA Letter Concerning Worker Protection
  • Q  EPA Response to the Draft Report
  • R  OIG Evaluation of the Agency’s Response
  • S  New York City Response to Draft Report Excerpts
  • T  OIG Evaluation of New York City’s Response
  • U  Distribution