WORLD TRADE CENTER

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

COMMUNITY UPDATE

Pollution Exposures in Lower Manhattan

The NYU-NIEHS Center is evaluating

the community exposures to particulate

matter air pollution resulting from the World

Trade Center Disaster. Following the collapse

of the WTC buildings, dust spread throughout

lower Manhattan. The premise of this

research team, and of other scientists, is 

that exposures to high levels of particulate

matter (PM) air pollution, such as soot 

could have adverse health effects. Individuals

most at-risk would include pregnant moms,

children, and persons with pre-existing 

health problems.

Drs. Lung Chi Chen and George

Thurston and their team of investigators

collected dust “fallout” samples near 

Ground Zero (and from apartment buildings

nearby in lower Manhattan), as well as 

daily air pollution samples near Ground 

Zero beginning days after 9/11, and have 

been evaluating these samples for their

composition and toxicity. Ambient air

samples were collected at the NYU 

Downtown Hospital on Beekman Street in

lower Manhattan, and at Hunter College in 

midtown for comparison.

The resulting data indicate that the

fallout dust included primarily melted glass

and fiberglass. A small fraction of these

samples contained metals, radionuclides,

ionic species, asbestos, lead and organic

chemicals. The fraction of these substances

was very small.

The samples of settled dust were highly

alkaline. It was concluded that most of the

WTC dust particles were large and, thus, were

unlikely to penetrate past the throat into the

lung, as could smaller particles. The larger

dust particles were more alkaline and ,

therefore, were irritating to the throat, but 

did not get into the lung. This is consistent

with the symptoms and complaints of

“WTC cough” that many individuals have 

Ongoing Studies of WTC Disaster

Contamination Effects

fall 2003

experienced as a result of exposure to WTC

dust. Indeed, in research conducted by NYU

in collaboration with the U.S. EPA, it was

found that the WTC dust samples can cause

airway irritation and reactivity in tests on

laboratory animals. This research indicates

that it is biologically plausible that human

exposures to WTC dust could make heavily

exposed persons more reactive to things in

the air.

Photo by Barry Goldstein © 2001

These investigations by the various university

programs are being conducted as collaborative

efforts with coordination by the NIEHS.
2

Photo by Barry Goldstein © 2001

Air particle soot levels in the NYU

Downtown Hospital area were high in the

weeks following 9/11, but were well within

legal limits set by the US Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA), and these levels

decreased over time. The soot levels in lower

Manhattan were highest at night, but

decreased during periods of rain and they

also dissipated over time. Dust particles

found inside apartments were similar in

nature to the dust particles collected

outdoors, but were lowered considerably by

using HEPA filtration.

Dr. Paul J. Lioy and his fellow researchers

at the Rutgers University Environmental and

Occupational Health Sciences Institute

(EOHSI) have focused their investigations on

a further analysis of outdoor and indoor WTC

dust samples collected near Ground Zero.

These researchers have also investigated 

the health and psychological symptoms of

firefighters and pregnant women following

the WTC collapse. Additional studies by this

research team involve reconstruction of the

WTC plume exposures and collaboration with

other NIEHS investigators who are studying

the toxicology of coarse air particles.

The EOHSI researchers have found that

the WTC dust and smoke was a complex

mixture of fibrous materials, cement,

building debris, and products of incomplete

combustion. The materials of health concern

included asbestos, products of incomplete

combustion, lead and glass fiber. Intense and

acute exposures to these materials occurred

on 9/11 and 12 and the dust and smoke was

re-suspended in the air in the days to weeks

that followed. Long-term environmental

health problems focus on poorly cleaned 

residences or workplaces, and unprotected

rescue workers and clean-up workers.

Future plans for the EOHSI research

group are to compare their results of the 

dust particles characterization with 

epidemiological and clinical investigations

obtained by investigating the health 

after-effects of exposed individials, and 

to then report results to the public.

Contamination Effects continued from front page A recent community exposure study 

has conducted a self-assessment of exposure

for 50 New York City residents following the

WTC disaster. This study was conducted by

researchers S.M. Rappaport of the University

of North Carolina, J. Pleil of the United 

States Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA), J. Caravanos of Hunter College, and 

J. Wagner of the California DHS (Department

of Health Services).

This research team developed air

samplers for use in this study that were

unique because they were small, lightweight,

had no moving parts, and electricity and 

calibration were not needed—which made

them ideal for self-monitoring. The majority

of the air samplers were distributed to

community residents on September 11, 2002,

with additional samplers distributed in

November, 2002. The response from the

community has been very positive because

the process for collecting the air samples was

simple and not very time consuming. Future

plans are to expand the study to other groups

of people and extend the sampling period.
3

Health Effects Among Pregnant

Women and Their Infants

The World Trade Center Pregnancy

Outcome Study conducted by Dr. Trudy

Berkowitz of the Mt. Sinai School of

Medicine is evaluating the impact of toxic

pollutants released from the WTC collapse 

on September 11, 2001 and associated

psychological stress on the health of pregnant

women and their infants. The key issues 

of the study are to determine the levels of

exposures to pollutants among pregnant

women who were at or near WTC on 9/11,

the levels of stress, anxiety and depression 

in the exposed women and the effects of

multiple pollutants and stress/anxiety 

on birth outcome and infant growth and

development at least to age two.

The Mount Sinai study population

consisted of 187 pregnant women who were

either in or near the WTC on 9/11. Twelve

women in this study were actually inside the

towers, and 75% were within ten blocks of the

WTC. A comparison group consisted of

2,367 pregnant women known not to have

been near the WTC and who delivered their

babies at Mount Sinai Hospital during the

same time period. Data from detailed 

questionnaires, as well as blood, urine and

breast milk samples were obtained from 

each woman. Researchers will ascertain 

pregnancy outcomes and evaluate infant

growth and cognitive and psychomotor 

development at ages 9 months and 2 years.

The results of this study, to date, indicate

that the pregnant women in this study group

were older, more educated and represented

fewer minorities than the New York City

population, in general. Their levels of stress

and depression were also lower than what had

been reported in previous surveys of New

York City residents.

In a recently published report, this study

found no significant differences between the

groups in gestational age (in birth weight).

There were also no significant differences in

frequency of preterm births or in incidence

of low birth weight. However, the WTC group

had a twofold increased risk of intrauterine

growth restriction (IUGR), defined as a 

birthweight below the 10th percentile

expected for the newborns’ gestational ages.

This result indicates that babies born to

women living closer to the WTC disaster site

had slightly diminished birth weights when

compared to babies that were born to women

living elsewhere in the city.

Drs. Frederica Perera and Sally

Lederman of the Columbia University

Center for Children’s Environmental

Health are leading a research team evaluating

the health effects of exposures to WTC air

pollutants among pregnant women and 

their babies, as well as the relationships

between these exposures and fetal and child

development. The primary question that

these researchers are focused on is: Are 

developing infants and children susceptible 

to environmental toxicants that their mothers

were exposed to?

This Columbia University research study

has investigated 360 non-smoking women

who lived or worked near the WTC and who

were pregnant on 9/11/01. These women were

interviewed and maternal and/or umbilical

cord blood samples were collected. Medical

records of the mothers and the newborns

were also studied. In addition, data were

collected on all births occurring at the 

same hospitals during the study period for

comparison to births of enrolled women.

Women were interviewed six months after 

the birth of their babies to gather information

about infant feeding history.

Future plans of this research study

involve: examining geographic distribution 

of WTC exposures, taking into account time

and location; integrating exposure data 

from all sources; evaluating relationships of

exposures to newborn outcomes; continuing

phone interviews on infant feeding history

until all children have reached six months 

of age; assessing child’s growth and 

development at ages one and two, and 

evaluating relationships of exposure 

measures to mental and motor development

at ages one and two.

The World Trade Center Worker and

Volunteer Medical Screening Program

A new federally-funded program has begun that provides free,

confidential medical examinations to the brave men and women who

responded after the attacks on the World Trade Center. The program is open

to those who performed rescue, recovery and clean-up work, as well as those

who worked to restore vital services.

The examinations are being conducted nationwide and include:

occupational and medical history; physical examination by a physician;

complete blood count and routine blood and urine tests; breathing tests;

chest x-ray; and evaluation of stress-related effects.

Each participant will receive referrals for follow-up medical care

and benefits and entitlement information, if needed, and a confidential

written report of examination results.

The program will continue to conduct initial examinations through

February 2004. Long-term medical monitoring has recently been funded by

Congress and the details of the program will be available by late Fall, 2003.

For more information or to register, call 1-888-702-0630.
4

Investigations of Exposures and Health

Effects Among Workers at Ground Zero

An ongoing investigation of WTC

workers, led by Dr. Jacqueline Moline of the

Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, has focused 

on the physical effects in upper and lower

respiratory tracts of the lung, as well as on

psychological effects.

The key issues being investigated in 

this study are: What health effects have been

seen in rescue and recovery workers, and

what factors make it more or less likely for

individuals to develop health effects?

As of October 2002, approximately 

100 iron workers were evaluated at the 

Mt. Sinai Center for Occupational and

Environmental Medicine. Clinical exams 

of these iron workers found persistent 

symptoms of rhinitis /sinusitis, cough,

shortness of breath on exertion, chest 

tightness, and wheezing. Pulmonary function

test results indicated a high percentage of

them were experiencing breathing problems.

Of the iron workers examined, 66% had

persistence of one or more indicators of

psychological distress, such as feeling distant

from others, emotional numbness, feeling 

on guard or on edge, feeling jumpy or easily

startled, trouble sleeping, nightmares and

persistent anxiety.

Study findings suggest that respiratory

and psychological symptoms persist 

over a year after the attacks and, despite 

this, many individuals have not yet sought

medical attention.

Dr. Alison S. Geyh and her colleagues 

at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of

Public Health along with collaborators at the

Columbia University Mailman School of

Public Health have conducted a study to

investigate exposures of truck drivers to

airborne contaminants such as asbestos,

particulate matter, volatile organic

compounds and metals. A continuation 

of the study was also done to investigate 

both acute and chronic respiratory health 

of workers including heavy equipment 

operators, laborers, carpenters, as well as

truck drivers.

Airborne contaminants were monitored

at Ground Zero both in October 01 and April

02 at nine different locations. Sixty-seven

truck drivers were enlisted in the study to

examine their personal exposures to 

airborne contaminants. In December 2001,

a respiratory symptoms health survey was

conducted for 183 workers of whom 175 

also did lung function testing. Of this group,

13% had below normal lung function.

This research study concluded that 

exposure to particles was significantly

elevated in the early months following 9/11,

but decreased as the site was cleared.

Exposure of these workers to airborne

asbestos concentrations as well as fibers

longer than 5 microns was low during the

periods they monitored. Immediately at the

disaster site lead levels were elevated and

similar to those found in New York City

during the 1980’s when leaded gasoline was

still used. Of the workers surveyed in

December who started working at the site

reporting no respiratory symptoms, more

than a third developed cough with some 

also reporting that they were now wheezing.

Lung function testing demonstrated that a 

small percentage of these workers may have

mild impairment of lung function.

Currently, the Johns Hopkins team 

is collaborating with the International

Brotherhood of Teamsters, the International

Union of Operating Engineers, the Laborers

International Union of North America, and

the New York City Department of Sanitation

on a WTC Clean Up and Recovery Worker

Health Assessment. This study is focused on

individuals who were directly involved in the

clean up and recovery effort either at the WTC

or the Fresh Kills Land fill. A questionnaire

has been mailed to approximately 8000

workers starting March 2003. Data analysis is

now under way.

Investigations of Exposures and Health Effects

Among Workers at Ground Zero

Photos by Barry Goldstein © 2001
5

WORLD

TRADE

CENTER

PUBLIC

FORUMS

A public forum reporting the latest plans

and results of the ongoing studies discussed

in this newsletter will be held at the NYU

Lower Manhattan campus in the Woolworth

Building at Barclay Street and Broadway on

October 21 , 2003, from 6:15-9:00 PM. This

follows a previous forum that was held at the

Manhattan Borough Community College on

October 17, 2002 to report research plans by

investigators who are participating in the

World Trade Center (WTC) environmental

health research grants administered by the

National Institute of Environmental Health

Sciences (NIEHS). The October 2003 forum

will report the results from these ongoing

NIEHS-supported WTC pollution studies.

Dr. George Thurston, Director of

Community Outreach and Education Program

at The New York University (NYU) School 

of Medicine’s Department of Environmental

Medicine opened the 2002 meeting by

presenting information about the background

of the NIEHS WTC research program:

As a result of the WTC tragedy of September

11, 2001, the NIEHS requested that its

University-based Environmental Health 

and Children’s Centers apply their scientific

expertise to investigate the potential 

environmental health risks that might 

occur as a result of the tragedy.

The Centers involved in these research

studies include: NIEHS Children’s Centers at

Columbia University and Mt. Sinai Medical

Center, and; the NIEHS Environmental 

Health Centers at Columbia University, NYU

School of Medicine (along with collaborators

at the University of Rochester), University 

of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey

(Rutgers), Johns Hopkins University, and 

he University of North Carolina (and its

collaborator Hunter College). Their latest

results and scientific advice will be provided

at the next public forum October, 21, 2003.

For more details, go to:

http://niem.med.nyu.edu/WTC/

A research team led by Dr. Joan Reibman

of the NYU School of Medicine Belvue

Hospital and Dr. Shao Lin of the New York

State Department of Health conducted 

a study to find out if there was an acute or

chronic respiratory health impact on the 

residents of the WTC area. This clinical and

epidemiologic study assessed the extent of

new respiratory problems after September 11,

2001 among previously healthy persons, as

well as in residents of lower Manhattan with

pre-existing asthma. Respiratory symptoms

were evaluated by questionnaire, and lung

function was evaluated in a subset of the

study population.

The WTC Residents Respiratory Health

Study is being investigated by the New York

State Department of Health, NYU School of

Medicine/Bellevue Hospital and the Center 

for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, NYU

Downtown Hospital, Governor Health Clinic

and the American Lung Association of New

York City.

The study focused on individuals

residing in apartment buildings within a 

1 mile radius of Ground Zero (approx. 9,500

households) versus “control” residents living

in comparison apartment buildings greater

than 5.5 miles from Ground Zero (2,300

households in upper Manhattan and 

Queens). Individuals also repeated the same

questionnaire three months later. Individual

interviews and simple pulmonary function

tests were also performed in order to measure

the presence of airway obstruction. In 

addition, a limited subset of the participants

from each group took part in lung function

tests at Bellevue Hospital in order to 

determine if residents nearer the WTC now

have greater airway reactivity than residents

living further away.

Preliminary study results indicate that

previously healthy persons living near Ground

Zero had a greater increase in prevalence of

respiratory symptoms after September 11

than persons living at a distance from Ground

Zero. These respiratory symptoms were

predominantly cough, wheeze, and shortness

of breath. Pre-existing asthmatic residents 

in the WTC vicinity also reported a higher

prevalence of respiratory symptoms after

September 11, and an increased use of

asthma medication as compared to those

living further away.

Health Effects Among Community

Residents in Lower Manhattan

Photo by Barry Goldstein © 2001
6

Useful WTC web sites and documents

NYU WTC Information Website:

http://niem.med.nyu.edu/WTC

Environmental Health Effects of WTC:

Summary of Research

http://eohsi.rutgers.edu/wtc/ehnetwork/

effects.shtml

Exposure and Human Health Evaluation of

Airborne Pollution from the World Trade

Center Disaster

http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.

cfm?deid=54667

U.S. EPA, National Center for Environmental

Assessment (External Review Draft,

October 2002)

Toxicological Effects of Fine Particulate

Matter Derived from the Destruction of the

World Trade Center

http://www.epa.gov/nheerl/wtc/WTC_report_

7b3i.pdf

National Health and Environmental Effects

Research Laboratory, Office of Research and

Development, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (December 2002)

Report on the Expert Panel on Health

Effects of Asbestos and Synthetic Vitreous

Fibers: The Influence of Fiber Length

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/asbestospanel/

asbestostoc.html

Prepared for Agency for Toxic Substances and

Disease Registry, Division of Health

Assessment and Consultation (March 2003)

Indoor Air Assessment: Selecting

Contaminants of Potential Concern and

Setting Health-Based Benchmarks

http://tera.org/peer/WTC/welcome.htm

Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment

(TERA), World Trade Center Peer Review

(May 2003)

Environmental studies of the World 

Trade Center area after the September 11,

2001 attack.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0429/

#ExecutiveSummary

U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S.

Geological Survey (last modified 

February 2003)

WTC Newspaper Article Archive:

http://www.732-

2m2m.com/tt/newspaper_articles.htm

World Trade Center 

Public Forum

Tuesday October 21 , 2003,

6:15-9:00 PM

NYU Lower Manhattan

campus in the Woolworth

Building at Barclay Street 

and Broadway

World Trade Center

Environmental

Contaminant Database

NIEHS has supported the development of

the World Trade Center Environmental

Contaminant Database (WTCECD), a 

collaborative effort between Columbia

University Mailman School of Public Health

and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School 

of Public Health. The database contains 

environmental data from New York City and

the State of New Jersey. A web-based interface

was created to allow easy access to the data.

The database, which is currently available 

on the web at http://wtc.hs.columbia.edu/, is

intended for use by the research community

and other groups interested in exploring the

environmental impact of the destruction of

the WTC. The database is open to the public.

The WTCECD database contains the

following:

• Environmental data collected in response 

to the disaster. The data was collected by 

the USEPA and NYSDEC and includes 

samples of outdoor air contaminants,

outdoor bulk dust, indoor air 

contaminants, and indoor dust wipes.

• Ambient air quality data collected from 

fixed-site air quality monitoring stations 

in New York City and the State of New 

Jersey and was run by state environmental

agencies. These data were collected from 

1970 through September 30, 2002. The 

source for these data is the USEPA’s AIRS 

database. These include ozone, sulfur 

dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon 

monoxide, lead, particulate matter mass 

(TSP, PM10, PM2.5) plus parameters 

measured on an irregular basis include a 

suite of volatile organic compounds 

(VOCs), dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls

(PCBs), particle-associated metals, and 

limited meteorological data.

• The web-based interface allows 

searching the WTCECD for one or more 

contaminant parameters from one or 

more specific sites. Query results are 

provided for download as comma or 

tab-delimited text files. Query results may 

be date-limited prior to download.

Supplemental documentation (maps, data

dictionaries, QA/QC flag definitions) is 

available from links on the left-hand side 

of each webpage. Online help is available 

at each step in the query. For best results 

we recommend Internet Explorer 6.0 or 

Netscape 7.0 for PC users and Netscape 

7.0 for Mac users.

If you have specific questions about the database, you may contact Ms. Diane Levy or Ms.

Elsie Chettiar from the Department of

Biostatistics, Columbia University

(dl2015@columbia.edu) or

(ec2163@columbia.edu).

This community update was compiled by the Community Outreach and Education Programs of the

University of Rochester Environmental Health Sciences Center

(www2.envmed.Rochester.edu/envmed) and the New York University Institute of Environmental

Medicine. Questions or comments, please call: Joyce Morgan, 585–275–6702 (University of Rochester)

or Lisa Schuetz 845–731–3532 (NYU).

Photo by Barry Goldstein © 2001
7

Practical Tips that You Can Use

by Catherine McVay Hughes, and AsthmaMoms

Buy an Air Purifier with a HEPA Filter

and High CADR: Not Ozone Generating

Buy an air purifier with a high Clean Air

Delivery Rate (CADR). The CADR is the

volume of filtered air that an air purifier

delivers. The higher the CADR, the more air

the unit filters. For example, an air purifier

with a High Efficiency Particulate Air

(HEPA) filter is designed to remove 99.97%

of all airborne pollutants 0.3 microns or

larger from the air that passes through the

filter. Although there is no universally

accepted method for comparing air-cleaning

devices, the CADR can be used to compare

removal rates between different air purifying

devices and to estimate the removal rate of

materials. If you want to compare various

models, visit:

http://www.cadr.org/consumer/certified.html

One of the highest CADR rated models 

is the BlueAir. It is also one of the betterlooking machines, and is on wheels so you

can move it easily from room to room. It’s

quite quiet compared to other machines, even

those that say they are quiet. The price varies

depending on the size of the space you want

to clean. BlueAir’s HEPA filter also has a layer

of activated carbon to help adsorb odors,

fumes and other gaseous pollutants. The

BlueAir removes 99.97% of airborne particles

as small as 0.1 micron. For more information

visit: http://www.blueair.com/

Do not buy an air purifier that is solely an

“ion generator” or “ionizer”, since it may also

generate the potentially dangerous gas, ozone.

An ionizer is a device that disperses negatively

(and/or positively) charged ions into the air that

then attach to particles in the air giving them a

negative (or positive) charge. According to the

EPA: Ionizers are less effective than HEPA 

filters in removing particles of dust, tobacco 

smoke, pollen or fungal spores.

Ozone can damage the lungs when inhaled.

Ozone is good up high (upper atmosphere) where 

it helps filter out the sun’s damaging ultraviolet 

radiation, but bad nearby, where it may be harmful

to the respiratory system when breathed.

Ionized particles may soil walls and other

surfaces. Some ion generators are designed not 

to remove particles from the air but to deposit 

them on surfaces around the room. This results 

in a soiling of walls and other surfaces, especially 

if the particles charged by the apparatus are not

collected on a filter.

Ionized/Charged particles may become

deposited in the respiratory tract, especially 

with an ionizer that does not collect the 

charged particles.

For further information, go to “Ozone

Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners:

An Assessment of Effectiveness and Health

Consequences” at

http://www.epa.gov/iedweb00/pubs/residair.html

and

http://www.epa.gov/iedweb00/pubs/ozonegen.html

Sign Up for the WTC Registry

You may be eligible to enroll in the 

World Trade Center Registry if you lived,

worked, or attended school near the World

Trade Center south of Canal Street on

September 11, 2001, or if you worked as a

rescue, recovery or construction worker 

either at the WTC site or at the Staten Island

landfill between September 11, 2001 and 

June 30, 2002. It is important for you to register,

since the Registry may identify patterns of

illness earlier than would be possible without a

registry.

The purpose of the Registry is to collect

information on the short and long-term 

physical and mental health of people who 

came in contact with the smoke, dust, and

debris from the WTC collapse, or who

witnessed the WTC disaster at a close distance.

Participation in the WTC Registry is

entirely voluntary and confidential.

As a participant, you will become better

informed of any medical or public health 

information as it becomes available, including

relevant studies and medical interventions,

and you will be helping researchers to evaluate

the possible health effects of the WTC disaster.

Your information will be obtained 

through a confidential telephone interview 

and, in some cases, a face-to-face interview.

Referral information forphysical and mental

health, environmental services and relevant

researchers will be available on-line, and if

requested on the telephone.

Periodically, a registrant may be contacted

to check on their health and notify them about

other studies for which they might be eligible.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency

(FEMA) provided $20 million to the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services

(HHS) to establish the WTC Registry. The 

WTC Registry is being created and maintained

by the NYC Department of Health and Mental

Hygiene (NYCDOHMH) and the Agency for

Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

(ATSDR), an environmental public health

agency under HHS. The Registry is expected to

enroll as many as 100,000 to 200,000 persons.

When completed, it will be the largest such

registry of its kind.

For further information and to register,

call 3-1-1 or visit the official website:

http://www.nyc.gov/health/wtcregistry 

NEWSLETTER GOALS

The objectives of this newsletter are:

• to inform the public about the research

that is being carried out by scientists at

National Institute of Environmental Health

Sciences (NIEHS) Centers to investigate the

environmental and health consequences of

the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster, and;

• to provide the public with information

arising from this research that is useful

in understanding and coping with the 

environmental insults that followed the 

WTC disaster on September 11, 2001.

The research discussed in this newsletter is upported by grants from NIEHS Superfund Basic

Research Program (P 42 ES07384 at Mount Sinai and P 42 ES05948 at UNIC) and Centers for

Environmental health Sciences (P30 ES09089 at Columbia; P30 ES00260 at NYU; P30 ES03819 at

Johns Hopkins; P30 ES05022 at UMDNJ; Univer sity of Rochester P30 ES01247) and US EPA from

the Particulate Matter Health Research Center Pro gram (R827351 NYU; R827354 University of

Rochester); and the September 11th Fund created by The New York Community Trust and United

Way of New York City.
Redeveloping the World Trade Center:

The Environmental Review Process

By Catherine McVay Hughes

As rebuilding begins at the former 

World Trade Center (WTC) Site, the Lower

Manhattan Development Corporation

(LMDC) has started the process by holding 

a hearing in June 2003 on the Generic

Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS).

The current estimate for the environmental

review process is: Final Scope of the GEIS

(August 2003), Draft GEIS (November 2003)

and Final GEIS (March 2004). For more

information, visit http://www.renewnyc.com/

plan_des_dev/default.asp.

A rebuilding process will minimize the

negative environmental impact on the WTC

residents and workers at the immediate site

and nearby. Some measures to incorporate in

the process of redeveloping the World Trade

Center (WTC) include:

• Minimize Dust. A simple and inexpensive

method of keeping construction dust to a

minimum is to run a water truck at the World

Trade Center site and along the nearby

streets, particularly those under renovation.

This routine and necessary protocol is 

necessary since some residents may have an

increased sensitivity to dust after 9/1I.

• Improve the public transportation 

infrastructure. This can be done by creating

a world-class regional and airport access

system linking Lower Manhattan to Long

Island and all three of the area’s major

airports, and revitalizing downtown’s 

antiquated and damaged transportation

Useful Definitions

Taken from Lungs in Health and Disease from

the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

and Bronchoscopy: Pulmonary Branch

Protocols from the National Institutes of

Health, Clinical Center:

Asthma: Respiratory condition marked by

recurrent attacks of wheezing, coughing,

shortness of breath, and labored breathing

caused by narrowing of the airways.

Bronchitis: Inflammation of the bronchi.

Acute bronchitis comes on suddenly and

usually clears up in a few days. Chronic 

bronchitis lasts for a long period and recurs

over several years.

Bronchoscopy: a routine diagnostic 

procedure that lets your doctor see inside

your lungs and possibly to get tissue to

examine. The procedure uses a bronchoscope:

a small, narrow, tube with a light and lens 

at the tip.

Chronic: Of long duration, frequently 

recurring.

Lung volume: Amount of gas in the lungs.

The total volume of gas in the lungs is 

subdivided into compartments (volumes) 

and capacities (combinations of two or more

volumes). In general, lung volumes increase 

in obstructive lung diseases and decrease in

restrictive lung diseases.

Obstructive lung diseases: Disease due to

narrowing of any portion of the airways that

obstructs airflow; examples are COPD

(Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease),

cystic fibrosis, and asthma.

Pulmonary: Relating to the lungs.

Photo by Barry Goldstein © 2001

Pulmonary Function Tests: Procedures 

used for measuring how well the lungs are

working. The most common tests measure 

the ability of lungs to move air into and out 

of the lung.

PPB: Parts Per Billion

PPM: Parts Per Million

PM: Particulate Matter, emitted from diesel

exhaust, and processes that generate dust 

such as the burning and collapse of the WTC

Spirometer: Instrument used to measure

lung air volumes and flow rates.

ToxFAQs: Agency for Toxic Substances and 

Disease Registry (ATSDR) has a terrific series 

of summaries about hazardous substances at

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html 

VOCs: Volatile Organic Compounds (e.g.

benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene,

and naphthalene), http://www.epa.gov/iaq/

pubs/hpguide.html/VOCs

network. This is very important to minimize

vehicular congestion. The first step is the

expected reopening of the PATH from NJ to

NYC November 2003.

• Enforce the no idling rule. Idling of

tourist buses and limos visiting the site and

car service cars for local businesses pollutes

the air.

• Use Low Sulfur Fuel . Environmental

Defense’s briefing paper “Rebuilding Lower

Manhattan: A Clean Air Initiative” (11

January 2002) outlines how to dramatically

improve long-term air quality at the WTC site

as the area becomes one of the nation’s largest

construction sites. It is important to limit

exposure to new contaminants from diesel

engines generated by construction and

cleanup activities – as well as, buses

(including tourist and water ferries).

http://www.environmentaldefense.org/

documents/560_BriefingPaper011002%2Epdf

Use State-of-the-Art Energy Efficiency

Technology. After the recent extensive 

electricity blackout that left Downtown

Manhattan, as well as much of the Northeast,

in the dark for over 24 hours, it’s clear that 

our energy grid and supply is antiquated 

and a national security issue. Therefore,

construction at and surrounding the WTC site

should meet or exceed the standards used to

build the Conde Naste building, the first green

skyscraper in the United States. This 48-story

1.6 million square foot office tower is located

at Four Times Square in New York City. It has

fuel cells and photovoltaics. It didn’t cost

anymore, and it attracted premium tenants at

premium rents, according to Amory Lovins,

co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute,

a contractor for the Department of Energy.

For more information on energy security 

and energy efficient buildings, visit

http://www.rmi.org/. For more information

on the Conde Naste building, visit

http://www.sustainablebuildings.ca/

documents/2001/Lessons_Learned_pdf.pdf

Consider the Cumulative Impact of

the Development of the WTC site and

surrounding area. More than just the 16

acres (12 city blocks) of the WTC site were

severely damaged on September 11, 2001 and

more than that continues to be damaged two

years later. The accumulative environmental

health impact needs to be considered when

evaluating these plans. The scope should at

least include the following: Deutsche Bank

building (covering two city blocks), Fiterman

Hall (spanning one city block), 7 WTC

(construction already began at this one 

block site north of Vesey Street), Fulton

Transportation Station (will be undergoing

extensive renovations shortly) and the 

Church Street Post Office (currently 

undergoing extensive decontamination).

Developers, government agencies, elected

officials and researchers cannot forget that

many WTC area residents work and live in 

the WTC vicinity. In addition, many young

WTC children also attend school in the 

neighborhood, so that any exposure would 

be a 24-hour 7-day a week exposure.