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Lower
Manhattan Sampling Results
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Lower Manhattan sampling locations (circled numbers). |
Shortly after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers in 2001, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) and ATSDR collected air and dust samples to find out what hazardous substances were in air and settled surface dust in residential areas. This information was used to find out
The levels of materials detected in the air and dust samples are not likely to pose health hazards if recommended cleaning measures are followed.
The
fact sheet, executive summary, and full report are available on
ATSDR’s Asbestos Web page (www.atsdr.cdc.gov/asbestos/asbestos_WTC.html).
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The sampling was conducted from November 4 through December 11, 2001, in and around 30 residential buildings in lower Manhattan. As a comparison, four more buildings in upper Manhattan (above 59th Street) were also sampled.
Airborne levels of total fibers were similar in lower and upper Manhattan. Airborne levels of mineral components of concrete and mineral components of building wallboard were sometimes higher in lower Manhattan than in the upper Manhattan comparison area.
Low levels of asbestos were found in some settled surface dust in lower Manhattan, primarily below Chambers Street. No asbestos was found in the upper Manhattan comparison area. Lower Manhattan had higher percentages of fiberglass, mineral components of concrete, and mineral components of building wallboard in settled surface dust than did the upper Manhattan comparison area.
Residents were recommended to
EPA is conducting follow-up activities to address the recommendations in the report. NYC DOHMH and ATSDR are developing a registry that will track the health of persons who were most highly exposed to World Trade Center-related materials.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2003. Potential exposures to airborne and settled surface dust in residential areas of lower Manhattan following the collapse of the World Trade Center—New York City, November 4–December 11, 2001. MMWR 52(7):131–6.
For More Information
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The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and ATSDR are creating a registry of people who worked or lived near the World Trade Center (WTC) site on September 11, 2001. The WTC Registry will collect health information about people most heavily exposed to smoke, dust, and debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center. It will help identify patterns of illness and recovery that might not be uncovered by individual doctors. When completed, it will be the largest registry of its kind, and have up to 200,000 people enrolled. The WTC Registry is scheduled to begin interviewing prospective enrollees in the spring or early summer of 2003.
Eligibility criteria for enrollment in the WTC Registry will be based on whether persons
In September 2002, ATSDR provided technical support to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in a joint evidence recovery effort at the site of the 2001 anthrax attack in Boca Raton, Florida.
According to Dr. Ed Kilbourne, ATSDR’s Associate Administrator for Toxic Substances, this operation successfully applied new scientific techniques to locate, quantify, and collect concentrations of anthrax within the American Media Incorporated (AMI) building. Based on laboratory results, items were removed from the building for further forensic examination. Results from these examinations will provide the FBI with valuable data to further advance the ongoing investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks.
This endeavor at the AMI building is the largest hazardous materials evidence collection effort in the history of the FBI’s Hazardous Materials Response Unit. Highly trained personnel from the FBI, ATSDR, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collected about 5,000 evidence samples in more than 550 entries into the anthrax-contaminated offices of AMI. The FBI noted that the unprecedented partnership with public health agencies directly contributed to the success of this effort.
The recovery effort was supported by on-scene medical monitoring for the team because of the heat and humidity and problems with the building’s air conditioning system. The greatest concern for team members was heat stress from working and sweating copiously in their protective suits. Team members wore cooling vests to help ward off heat stress and were monitored by a medical officer and an emergency medical technician.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has set up a free registry to provide clinicians with real-time information to help prepare for (and possibly respond to) terrorism and other emergency events. Participants will receive regular e-mail updates on terrorism and other emergency issues and on training opportunities relevant to clinicians.
To sign up for the registry and receive e-mail updates, go to www.bt.cdc.gov/clinicianreg.
[Table of Contents]
New
Tool: Tox Town
A New Approach to Presenting Toxic Chemical and Environmental
Health Information
Tox Town (toxtown.nlm.nih.gov), new from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) (www.nlm.nih.gov), is a free, Web-based resource of “nontechnical” information about commonly encountered toxic substances, your health, and the environment.
Tox Town’s target audience is students above elementary-school level, educators, and the general public. It guides users through an ordinary town to identify its common environmental hazards. Specific locations (like the school, home, and office building) can be selected for cutaway views and for more detailed information about the toxic chemicals that might be found there, as well as for links to selected Internet resources. NLM plans to expand Tox Town to include more chemicals and new locations such as an urban community and a farming region.
Tox Town also has some resources available in Spanish (toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/espanol/index.html).
Tox Town’s use of color, graphics, sounds, and animation adds special appeal for its intended audience. Tox Town’s special effects require Macromedia Flash, which can be downloaded for free from Macromedia at www.macromedia.com. A text-only version is available (toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version).
In addition to
Tox Town, NLM’s Division of Specialized Information Services (sis.nlm.nih.gov)
also produces TOXNET (sis.nlm.nih.gov/Tox/ToxMain.html),
a popular set of databases for toxicologists and other scientists.—COLETTE
HOCHSTEIN, DMD, MLS, AND
CINDY LOVE, MLS, DIVISION
OF SPECIALIZED INFORMATION
SERVICES, NATIONAL LIBRARY
OF MEDICINE
Auf der Heide E. Disaster response: principles of preparation and coordination. St. Louis (MO): CV Mosby; 1989. Now available for downloading/viewing at no charge, courtesy of the Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (Internet: www.coe-dmha.org/dr/flash.htm).
Auf der Heide E. Community medical disaster planning and evaluation guide. Dallas: American College of Emergency Physicians; 1995. For information, contact Don Kerns, American College of Emergency Physicians, PO Box 619911, Dallas TX 75261-9911; 1-800-798-1822 [touch 6]; Internet: www.acep.org/bookstore/index.cfm?go=product.detail&id=490.
Auf der Heide E. Principles of hospital disaster planning. In: Hogan D, Burstein JL, editors. Disaster medicine. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins; 2002. p. 57–89. ISBN: 0-7817-2625-5.
Drabek TE, Hoetmer GJ. Emergency management: principles and practice for local government. Washington, DC: International City Management Association; 1991. ISBN: 0-87326-082-1.
Lindell MK, Perry RW. Behavioral foundations of community emergency planning. Bristol, PA: Hemisphere Publishing Corp.; 1992. ISBN: 0891166203.
Mileti DS, Sorensen JH. Determinants of organizational effectiveness in responding to low probability catastrophic events. Columbia J World Business 1987;22(1):13B21.
Noji EK. The public health consequences of disasters. Cary, NC: Oxford University Press; 1996. ISBN: 0-19-509570-7.
Wenger DE, James TF, Faupel CE. Disaster beliefs and emergency planning. New York: Irvington Publishers; 1985. ISBN: 082901361X.
Disaster Research Center Publications. Newark, DE: University of Delaware. Telephone: 302-831-6618; fax: 302-831-2091; e-mail: susan.castelli@mvs.udel.edu; Internet: www.udel.edu/DRC/publications.html.
Emergency Management Institute. Academic Emergency Management and Related Courses for the Higher Education Project. Internet: 166.112.200.141/emi/edu/aem_courses.htm.
International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters. Los Angeles: University of Southern California. Telephone: 213-740-6842; e-mail: ijmed@usc.edu; Internet: www.usc.edu/schools/sppd/ijmed/.
Regional Disaster Information Center (CRID) for Latin America and the Caribbean: Virtual Disaster Library. San Jose, Costa Rica: Regional Disaster Information Center for Latin America and the Caribbean. Internet: www.crid.or.cr/crid/Indexen.htm.
The Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado. Includes links to the Natural Hazards Observer and Disaster Research newsletters. Boulder, CO: University of Colorado. Telephone: 303-492-6819; e-mail: hazctr@spot.colorado.edu; Internet: www.colorado.edu/hazards. Free.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Internet: www.atsdr.cdc.gov.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Internet: www.cdc.gov.
Disaster Management Higher Education Project, Emergency Management Institute, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Internet: 166.112.200.141/emi/edu/highlinks2.htm.
Disaster/Humanitarian Assistance, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Internet: 165.158.1.110/english/ped/pedhome.htm.
The Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado. Internet: www.Colorado.EDU/hazards/.
The University of Delaware,
Disaster Research Center. Internet: www.udel.edu/DRC/.
—ERIK AUF DER
HEIDE, MD, MPH, FACEP
ndms.dhhs.gov/
This is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office
of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) and National Disaster Medical System
(NDMS) Web site. OEP has the DHHS responsibility for managing and coordinating
federal health, medical, and health-related social services and recovery
to major emergencies and federally declared disasters. NDMS is a federally
coordinated system that augments the nation’s emergency medical response
capability.
www.bt.cdc.gov
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Emergency
Preparedness and Response Web page includes facts and news related to
anthrax, smallpox, chemical weapons, biological weapons, radiologic
emergencies, and more.
www.ccep.ca
The Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness, a Canadian nonprofit
organization, promotes disaster management to individuals, communities,
and organizations, in both government and the private sector.
www.citizencorps.gov
Citizen Corps, part of USA Freedom Corps, provides public education,
training, and volunteer opportunities to support community and family
safety.
www.epa.gov/swercepp/
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chemical Emergency Preparedness
and Prevention Office provides leadership, advocacy, and assistance
to prevent and prepare for chemical emergencies, respond to environmental
crises, and inform the public about chemical hazards in their community.
www.epc-pcc.gc.ca/
Canada’s Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency
Preparedness is the government’s primary agency for ensuring national
civil emergency preparedness for all types of emergencies.
www.fema.gov
The Federal Emergency Management Agency leads America to prepare for,
prevent, respond to, and recover from disasters.
www.fema.gov/kids
This Federal Emergency Management Agency Web site teaches kids how to
be prepared for disasters and how to prevent or reduce disaster damage.
www.whitehouse.gov/deptofhomeland/
The Department of Homeland Security mission is to prevent terrorist
attacks within the United States, reduce America’s vulnerability to
terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do
occur. The department has four divisions: Border and Transportation
Security; Emergency Preparedness and Response; Chemical, Biological,
Radiological, and Nuclear Countermeasures; and Information Analysis
and Infrastructure Protection.
epix.hazard.net/
The Emergency Preparedness Information Exchange is an information exchange
service for emergency managers.
www.disasters.org/deralink.html
The Disaster Preparedness
and Emergency Response Association, International is a professional
association linking professionals, volunteers, and organizations active
in all phases of emergency preparedness and management. The Web site
is available in English, French, German, Italian, Portugese, and Spanish.
www.pep-c.org/
The Peninsula Emergency Preparedness Committee in Washington State helps
families and neighborhoods prepare for earthquakes, volcanoes, fires,
and floods.
A Guide for Public Health
Agencies Developing, Adopting, or Purchasing Interactive Web-Based Data
Dissemination Systems is now available. The guide is a practical
tool for public health agencies to use in (a) developing, adopting,
or buying new queriable Web-based data systems, or (b) enhancing existing
systems. The guide provides a consolidated list of processes, standards,
and checklists. In addition, a prototype of a Web-based data dissemination
system interface illustrates the best practices described in the guide.
Both the guide and the prototype are accessible at www.cdc.gov/epo/dphsi/asb/orcmacro.htm.
For more information, call Timothy A. Green at 770-488-8378.
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This page last updated on
October 24, 2003
Contact Name: Wilma López/ mailto:WLopez@cdc.gov
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