EPA Response to September 11

Summary of the Report

This report presents and summarizes the results of EPA's World Trade Center Dust Cleanup and Testing, which have been previously released. EPA formed an Indoor Air Task Force in February 2002. In April 2002, the Mayor of the City of New York requested that EPA serve as the lead agency for addressing potential effects of WTC dust on residences in lower Manhattan. EPA subsequently developed and implemented a comprehensive program, with broad interagency input at federal, state and local levels, to ensure that lower Manhattan residents were protected from potential exposures to WTC-related dust and debris.

The WTC dust cleanup and testing program allowed residents living south of Canal Street in lower Manhattan to have their homes professionally cleaned and tested or just tested free of charge. In addition to offering this service to residents, EPA conducted three supporting projects, also funded by FEMA under the Stafford Act. The projects were:

• A Contaminants of Potential Concern (COPC) Report that established health-based benchmarks for contaminants in support of cleanup efforts.
• A Confirmation Cleaning Building Study that evaluated the effectiveness of various cleaning techniques on WTC-related dust.
• A Background Study that provided data on contaminants in indoor air and settled dust in residences North of 78th Street.