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Daily Environmental Monitoring Summary

Thursday, November 8, 2001

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal, state and local agencies have collected extensive environmental monitoring data from the World Trade Center site and nearby areas in Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey. Since September 11, EPA has taken samples of the air, dust, water, river sediments and drinking water and analyzed them for the presence of pollutants that might pose a health risk to response workers at the World Trade Center site and the public. The samples are evaluated against a variety of benchmarks, standards and guidelines established to protect public health under various conditions. EPA is collecting data from more than 20 fixed air monitors in and around ground zero and additional monitors in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. The Agency is also using portable sampling equipment to collect data from a range of locations.

Results as of 5:00 p.m. on 11/8

Air: Fixed Monitors in New York:
Asbestos - EPA analyzed 52 samples taken in and around ground zero from November 4 through November 5. All samples showed results less than 70 structures per square millimeter, which is the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) standard for allowing children to re-enter school buildings after asbestos removal activities. This brings the total number of air samples collected and analyzed for lower Manhattan to 1,799, with 28 samples above the standard (27 were collected prior to September 30 and one was collected on October 9).

Air: Fixed Monitors outside Manhattan:
Asbestos - Additional asbestos monitors have been placed at Public School (P.S.) 154 (33 East 135th St., Bronx), Intermediate School 143 (511 W. 182nd St., Manhattan), P.S. 274 (800 Bushwick Ave, Brooklyn), P.S. 44 (80 Maple Parkway, Staten Island) and P.S. 199 (3290 48th St., Queens). From October 26 to October 29, 18 asbestos samples were collected and analyzed from these locations. All the results showed no exceedances of the AHERA re-entry standard.

Staten Island Landfill:
Air (Asbestos) - Thirty-two samples were collected from November 5 through November 6. All but five of the samples showed results less than the school re-entry standard. The five samples collected on November 5 from Location 8 (perimeter), Locations 9A and 9B (sifting stations), and Locations 12A and 12 B (wash stations) exceeded the AHERA standard. These findings are being investigated. During this period, three samples located around the sifting and barge operations areas were not analyzed due to filter overloading and two locations experienced sampler pump failure deeming the results invalid.

Air (Particulates) - EPA used portable monitors to collect samples of particulates from October 31 through November 7 at the Staten Island Landfill. Nothing of significance was reported at any Staten Island sampling locations. On November 3, the portable monitors were not operable due to high humidity and rain.

VOCs - Sampling for VOCs was conducted on November 6 and November 7 at five locations in the direct area of the debris pile at ground zero. To protect workers at the work site, EPA takes grab samples of VOCs where smoke plumes have been sighted. The results are snapshots of the levels at a moment in time. OSHA's protective standards set a permissible exposure limit (PEL) averaged over an 8-hour day. Six of the ten samples taken on November 6 and 7th at North Park Pier, Austin Tobin Plaza, and the EPA Wash Tent did not find any benzene levels above the detection limit of 20 parts per billion by volume (ppbv). On November 7, benzene exceeded the OSHA PEL of 1 part per million (ppm) in two samples taken from the North Tower and South Tower debris piles. Chlorodifluoromethane (Freon-22) was not found in any samples above the detection limit of 20 ppbv.

Dioxin - Ten samples were collected on October 18 and analyzed for dioxin/furans. Four of the samples (Locations B - Church & Dey, 3A - between World Trade Center buildings 4 & 5, C1 - Liberty and Broadway and D - Greenwich and Albany) showed results above the level at which EPA would take some type of action to reduce people's exposure. This action guideline is based on a 30-year exposure. However, none of the samples were above the EPA action guideline adjusted to a one-year exposure. These levels do not pose a short-term health affect but should be monitored if they persist for a long period of time.

PM 2.5 - Monitoring for fine particulate matter (particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) was conducted on November 6 at Pace University, Borough of Manhattan Community College, and the Coast Guard building in Battery Park. All 24-hour average values were below the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 65 ug/m3 for all stations. These results were also less than 40 ug/m3, a level on the EPA Air Quality Index indicating that air quality is unhealthy for sensitive populations (e.g., those with respiratory illnesses).

Particulate Monitoring - EPA used portable monitors to collect samples on November 7 in the following locations: L (north east side of Stuyvesant High School); N (south side of Pier 25); and R (north west side of Stuyvesant High School). All readings were below the OSHA time-weighted permissible exposure limit for particulates.

Direct Air Readings - Direct readings taken on November 6 and 7th in and around ground zero showed no levels of significance. No readings were noted above the carbon monoxide NAAQS 8-hour average of 9 ppm.

PATH Train Water Removal - EPA collected samples from the water pumped from the PATH train tunnels on October 3, October 10 and October 26. Samples were analyzed for a variety of substances including metals, VOCs, PCBs, asbestos and dioxin. All of the results for samples collected on October 3 and October 10 were below levels of concern with the exception of zinc, which was detected on October 10 at a level that exceeded marine water quality criteria. Results for PATH samples collected on October 26 identified chlorodifluoromethane (Freon-22) and dichlorodifluoromethane (Freon-12) in the water. The concentrations of all other VOCs were consistent with previous results.

Latest Available Daily Environmental Monitoring Summary

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EPA information about the events of September 11

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