Progress Is Slow but Steady as Thousands Await EPA Cleanup

More than three months into the Environmental Protection Agency’s indoor cleaning and testing program, some residents were relieved to have their apartments cleaned and declared asbestos-free by the EPA, and others were disappointed in the program. But the most common refrain among those interviewed was that they were frustrated because they had heard nothing from the EPA since registering months ago.

As of the end of last month, 5,069 apartments were registered for cleaning and testing, 1,196 for testing only, and EPA contractors had gotten to 866 of them. Only five apartments had asbestos levels over the agency’s safety threshhold, according to Mary Mears, an EPA spokeswoman.

The EPA has said that it will do surface wipe tests for dioxins, lead, mercury and other metals in 252 apartments. But last month only “10 to 20” of those tests had been completed, according to Benjamin Barry, director of community outreach for the cleanup program. He declined to predict when results would be available.
Critics have repeatedly complained that the program’s standard procedure, testing the air inside apartments for asbestos, is insufficient.

Some residents said that contractors were vacuuming the vents and cleaning the filters of air conditioners, but not removing the units for cleaning. A fact sheet distributed by the EPA said “Window air conditioners will be vacuumed then removed from their position and vacuumed internally.”

“Ninety-nine percent of the reason I requested the cleanup was to have the inside of the air conditioner cleaned, and the coordinator who inspected said they would do it,” said Jed Weisberg as a crew of five workers wiped countertops, cleaned picture frames and vacuumed in his loft at 57 Warren St. “But they told me today that’s not part of their job.” Weisberg had paid for two professional cleanings before moving back to the loft with his wife and child in January.

Some residents registered for a cleanup were disappointed that EPA contractors will not test before cleaning. (Apartments registered for just testing will be cleaned only if asbestos is found at levels above the EPA’s safety threshhold.) “I want to know what we’ve been living with,” said Heidi Devoe, who lives with her son at 50 Battery Pl. in Battery Park City.

For a free cleaning and/or testing call 877-796-5471 or go to www.epa.gov/wtc. The deadline is Dec. 28. Aggregate test results are posted on the website.