The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded its 2007-2008 Lower Manhattan Test and Clean Program, and has issued a final report summarizing the results.  The voluntary program was offered to residents and building owners concerned about potential residual contamination in buildings impacted by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers

The program covered the area below Canal Street and west of Allen and Pike Streets.  One hundred and eighty-three (183) residential apartments and the common areas in 21 residential or commercial buildings were sampled.  Most of the samples had no detectable levels of contamination.  Eleven thousand one hundred and ninety-nine (11,199) air and dust samples were collected.  Twenty-three (23) samples in 17 residential properties and 161 samples in the common areas of 16 buildings exceeded the benchmarks established for this program.  One hundred and seventy-four (174) of the exceedances were lead in dust, and the majority of these were associated with sources within the apartments or buildings.  Ten (10) of the exceedances were asbestos (two in air and eight in dust).  Four of the asbestos in dust exceedances were associated with existing sources within buildings.  The remaining six exceedances (four in dust – two in the basement air of a building) were not associated with existing sources within the buildings

A statistical analysis of the dust samples that contained lead was conducted.  The statistical analyses describe the participating apartments and building common areas.  It is not possible to draw valid statistical conclusions relevant to a larger population of buildings because the participants in the program were a self-selected group.  When appropriate, comparisons were made using data from the National Survey of Lead and Allergens (NSLAH) conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  EPA did not conduct a statistical analysis for dust samples with asbestos or the other substances sampled because there were insufficient numbers of samples with detectable levels of asbestos (1% for both air and dust), man-made vitreous fibers (2% in dust) and PAHs (0% in dust). 

Some of the buildings and apartments participating in the 2007-2008 program also participated in the 2002-2003 Indoor Air Residential Assistance Program.  Comparative results are provided for information only because the number of apartments and buildings involved is too small to draw definitive inferences. 

Lower Manhattan Test & Clean Program Final Report [PDF 529K, 38 pp]