MAKING NEWS — PEF Division 199’s council leader tells reporters about air quality problems at 90 Church Street in lower Manhattan — his members’ future worksite.
Report reveals truth about 9/11 fallout
PEF partners with Sierra Club in Ground Zero cleanup
By DEBORAH A. MILES
Three years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, crews continue working around Ground Zero, and the dust and fumes from demolition and construction may cause health-threatening pollution. So, PEF members from the state Department of Health (DOH) and Public Service Commission (PSC), who are slated to move to lower Manhattan next year, have teamed with the Sierra Club and other organizations to fight for cleaner air.
“PEF is working with a number of downtown organizations to make sure air quality is safe for our members,” said Paul Stein, PEF Division 199 council leader.
In August, the Sierra Club released a report that blasted the federal Environmental Protection Agency for failing to find toxic hazards that caused hundreds of people to become ill after exposure to the pollution caused by 9/11.
After the report was released, the Sierra Club, PEF, elected officials and other community groups participated in a news conference and vigil in lower Manhattan. The purpose was to draw attention to the long-term threats caused by the 9/11 fallout and the deficient studies and inadequate cleanup done by the Bush administration.
Stein said it was important for PEF to partner with the Sierra Club and other environmental groups because of the various demolition and construction projects that will take place around Ground Zero during the next decade.
More dust in the air
The future worksite for the staff at DOH and PSC is 90 Church Street — a 15-story building next to Ground Zero that was severely contaminated by asbestos, lead, fungi and other toxic substances by the events of 9/11. And two nearby buildings — the Deutsche Bank building and Fiterman Hall — also contaminated after the terrorist attacks, are now scheduled to be demolished.
“Our concern is the buildings be carefully demolished to prevent the release of contaminants into the air,” Stein said. “The Sierra Club has credibility and the ability to get press if proper standards aren’t met.”
By next March, approximately 350 PEF members from DOH and PSC who are now assigned to other locations will be relocated to 90 Church Street.
“We want to make sure the air we will be breathing on a daily basis is safe,” Stein said. “We are appalled by the reckless disregard for the health of workers and residents in lower Manhattan by the EPA and other governmental entities. The EPA testing was very incomplete.”
Uncovering the truth
The Sierra Club report uncovered through independent studies that significant levels of cancer-causing chemicals — polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) — were generally released by combustion of mixed materials in air and dust, something the EPA tests never detected. (You can view the entire report at
www.sierraclub.org.)
“The public has a right to know the truth,” Stein said. “This report tells the truth about environmental contamination after 9/11 and what actions our government must take to protect us.”
Strength in numbers
“Without the cooperation of the Sierra Club, the Civil Service Employees Association, 9/11 Environmental Action, NYCOSH and union activists from the New York City Housing Authority and the U.S. Postal Service, which are also located at 90 Church Street, we wouldn’t be as successful,” Stein said, referring to the unions’ winning campaign to get double-pane windows and higher efficiency filters on all air-distribution units at 90 Church Street.
Stein said the topic of indoor air quality will remain on the labor-management committee agenda until all the issues are resolved.
“We’ve made significant progress with management,” Stein said. “The next step is to make sure there is clearance testing of all the air intakes and air-handling units and to receive the results of those tests.”
The
Communicator October 2004
Features
PS&T members
ok contract
Bush Vs. Kerry
PEF helps boost candidates
Pataki signs pension
bills
Departments
President's
Message
You Said It -
Member's Mailbag
Health Notes 1: Empire Plan/Court
Health Notes 2:HMO/ Cancer Drugs
Health Notes 3: Save health care $
Health & Safety
Member Mobilization
Retirees In Action
PEF
Membership Benefits &Travel
Union Matters
Pilgrim
Psych Center fights back
PEF & Sierra Club in Ground Zero
Other Links
Professional
Directory
Members'
Classified
Member
Communicator Feedback
Do You Prefer The
Online Edition?
How To
Advertise Here
The
Communicator Staff
Questions on
this site?
Email the Webmaster