The EPA Cleanup: What You Need to Know

This month, government-funded cleanups of apartments below Canal Street are scheduled to begin, coordinated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As of Aug. 16, the EPA had received 3,000 requests for free cleaning and testing and 823 for testing only.

Below, the Trib provides a Q & A on what to expect from the program. Answers are based on interviews last month with EPA officials. Additional information, including detailed cleanup procedures, can be found on the EPA’s website, www.epa.gov/wtc.


Can I still request a cleanup?
The EPA extended the deadline for requesting a cleanup and/or air testing to Oct. 2. The cleanup hotline number is 877-796-5471.

How will the cleanup of my apartment be arranged?
A "project monitor"—a licensed contractor hired by the EPA—will call you to set up an appointment to assess the conditions in your apartment, discuss cleanup procedures, review special concerns and arrange a time for the work to be done. Work will be performed seven days a week, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., and where possible, apartments within the same building will be scheduled together.

Most apartments that have been cleaned, by residents or companies they hired, will be handled under what the EPA calls a "Scope A" cleanup. If a visual inspection turns up "significant accumulations of WTC dust and/or debris," contractors will apply a "Scope B" cleanup, in which areas with dust are sealed off, and workers in special protective gear collect the dust before "Scope A" cleaning begins.

What will be cleaned, and how?
All horizontal hard surfaces, including floors, ceilings, ledges,window sills, furnishings and appliances, will be vacuumed with a HEPA (high efficiency particulate) vacuum and wet wiped. Vertical and soft surfaces will be HEPA vacuumed twice.

Refrigerators, stoves and the spaces underneath them will be cleaned, and air conditioners and filters, paperwork and books will be HEPA vacuumed. Workers will not open or clean inside drawers or cabinets, and will not clean clothing, shoes or accessories like handbags. Terraces and exterior window sills that are accessible from the apartment will be cleaned.

Carpets will be cleaned with a water extraction cleaner if it will not damage the carpet. Curtains, fabrics and upholstery that cannot be cleaned by wet wiping will be HEPA vacuumed twice. EPA officials said that the cleaning of porous surfaces like carpets and fabrics may not remove all asbestos fibers, especially if the items were heavily coated by WTC dust.

The EPA estimates that each apartment cleanup will take a maximum of two days. The project monitor will inspect the apartment after cleaning, and if any dust is found, it will be recleaned.

Will ventilation systems and common spaces be cleaned?
Building-wide heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems will be cleaned only if the monitor finds dust accumulations and if the building owner permits it. (Tenant associations can ask the EPA to seek the owner’s permission.) In apartments, ventilation grills and footlong sections of ducts will be cleaned.

Lobbies, hallways, stairways and elevator interiors will be inspected and cleaned if dust is found.

How will air testing be done and what contaminants will be tested for?
Air testing will be performed within 24 hours of the completion of cleanup work and will take about eight hours. Residents can choose one of two methods. In what the EPA calls "modified-aggressive" testing, fans will circulate air during monitoring. In "aggressive" testing, a leaf-blower will be directed into corners and onto surfaces before monitoring begins.

In most apartments, EPA contractors will test only for asbestos. But in some apartments—five percent of those cleaned, up to 200, and 52 of those where residents requested testing only—workers will do wipe tests for dioxin, metals and mercury. If unsafe levels of those pollutants are found, the cleanup program may be expanded.

The EPA will notify you of results within two to three weeks. Apartments will be recleaned and retested if a predetermined standard (0.0009 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter) is not met.

Do I have to be out of my home?
Residents cannot be in apartments or areas where Scope B work is being done, and must vacate during, and for one to two days after "aggressive" air monitoring. The Red Cross will provide relocation assistance for people who need it. Pets (other than fish) should be removed during the cleanup.

What if property is damaged or missing after the cleanup?
The EPA advises residents to remove or secure valuable or fragile objects before cleaning begins. If this is not possible, items and their values should be identified in writing and discussed with the project monitor. The monitor will inspect the apartment with residents after work is finished, and residents will be asked to sign a project completion form, noting any damage or loss. The contractor will be responsible for any claims.