Independence Plaza North Tenant Association

IPNTA Wins Battle for Federal Cleanup of Apartments & Buildings

Aug 15, 2002

After months of lobbying, members of IPNTA, concerned about the environmental effects of September 11, were successful in persuading the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean our apartments. Working steadily with several other concerned groups in the area, IPNTA is insisting now that EPA also clean all local schools and commercial structures.

Meanwhile, our tenants association is urging all IPN residents who have not yet done so to either call the EPA hotline-877-796-5471-, or to register online (www.epa.gov) to request an apartment cleanup, followed by air testing. The cleanup and testing are free.

Two days after September 11, the head of EPA, Christine Todd Whitman, stated that the air in lower Manhattan was safe, even though the acrid, tear-causing, throat-burning stench was often overwhelming, and potentially dangerous white dust was everywhere to be seen.Whitman then turned over responsibility for indoor cleaning to the City, which in turn said cleanup was up to building owners and tenants. None of us, landlords or tenants, have the knowledge to do a professional anti-toxic cleanup.

In spite of the EPA's original position, some private and even government scientists, undertaking their own tests with sophisticated equipment, have raised serious questions about the amount of air-borne contamination. This may include asbestos, fiberglass, mercury, lead, chromium and cadmium, perhaps at levels above safety.

While these concerns are not raised to cause panic, they must be taken seriously. The key point, according to IPNTA, is that we will never know how safe the air is, if at all, until wide scale indoor testing is done on all buildings in our community.

That is why IPNTA is urging tenants to call the hotline first to request a professional cleanup for your apartment, and then an air testing. IPNTA also urges tenants to call the regional EPA administrator Jane M. Kenney at 212-637-5000, to insist on EPA's cleanup of all buildings in the area, including rooftops, facades, ventilation systems, and the like.

Members of IPNTA's environmental committee inlcude Mariette Baily, Pat Dillon, Kathryn Freed, Harriet Grimm, Diane Lapson, John Scott, and Maureen Silverman.

Diane Lapson & others