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CNN Live Saturday

EPA Helps Clean Up Homes Near Ground Zero

Aired May 11, 2002 - 12:54   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: The cleanup of debris at ground zero is nearly done. It was eight months ago today that the Twin Towers fell in a terrorist attack that shocked the world. For many New Yorkers with homes near ground zero, the cleanup is far from over, but the Environmental Protection Agency is going to help them out. The EPA will now provide free asbestos testing and cleaning for some 15,000 homes. CNN's Brian Palmer has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York artists Pat Moore and Andrew Duranko don protective suits for a visit to their apartment. Their home of 20-plus years effectively a time capsule from September 11. A thick coat of Trade Center dust coats most of their belongings -- glasses, books, Moore's entire studio. This after eight months of off and on cleaning. They say they couldn't afford a professional cleaner.

ANDREW DURANKO, ARTIST: This was all buried under two feet of debris. This (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

PAT MOORE, ARTIST: And this is what our kitchen looked like before friends came in to help us clean.

PALMER: Their building is one of the worst off. Michael Cook lives -- lived upstairs.

MICHAEL COOK, NEW YORK RESIDENT: We probably spent $12,000 cleaning up already.

PALMER: Their backyard, ground zero, where firefighters still sift through debris for clues to the identities of the missing.

The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to clean homes south of Canal Street for free, a job EPA initially delegated to the city, which left it to landlords.

JANE KENNY, EPA ADMINISTRATOR: At each resident's individual request, EPA will use city-certified contractors to clean the apartment, and then follow up by testing for asbestos in indoor air.

PALMER: Activists and some lawmakers pressed EPA for months to get action. REP. JERROLD NADLER (D), NEW YORK: When an administrative agency finally says it's going to do what I've been asking it to do, I'm not going to say, well, you should have done it eight months ago. Yeah, they should have, but they didn't. And I'm glad they're going to now.

KENNY: I'm not giving any excuses. Basically I'm just looking at the reality of the situation. And we -- I personally have -- feel a great amount of admiration for what New York City has done.

PALMER: Community activists like Shirley Kwan say the EPA's plan leaves out too many people.

SHIRLEY KWAN, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: It does not include people who are north of Canal Street, it does not include the cleaning up of schools, common places and workplaces. And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) really didn't stop at Canal Street.

PALMER: But among those inside the proposed EPA cleanup zone, some relief.

COOK: I'm anxious to see how they implement the program. And I know there's a lot of bureaucracy involved, and we just have to keep on them. But it's definitely a big relief that they're willing to accept some responsibility for the cleanup now, finally.

PALMER: The EPA is scheduled to begin work on June 1, but the EPA admits it still has to work out the specifics of the plan.

Brian Palmer, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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