EPA Acts to Improve Response EPA is developing rapid risk assessment tools to help responders and decision EPA developed a 24/7 "reach back" system and three scientific Red Teams to EPA developed enhanced scientific tools to aid in response, including improved EPA expanded and upgraded its laboratory capacity for analysis of biological United States Environmental Protection Agency Mr. SHAYS. Well, Dr. Gilman, you have given us a lot to think about and you will generate a number of questions by your presentation. Thank you. Ms. Clark. Ms. CLARK. Mr. Chairman, members of the panel. Thank you for this opportunity to discuss OSHA's role in protecting workers after the tragic events of the World Trade Center on September 11th. I am the Regional Administrator for Region 2, OSHA, which covers New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. OSHA's mission is to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for employees in this Nation. Within hours of the attack, OSHA joined with other Federal, State and local agencies, as well as safety and health professionals from contractors and trade unions onsite, to help protect workers involved in recovery, demolition and clean up operations. Working under perilous conditions, OSHA began coordinated efforts to protect the health and safety of workers. In line with the Federal Response and National Contingency Plans, OSHA determined it could be most effective by providing assistance and consultation. It was apparent the site was not typical construction or demolition project. Workers needed immediate protection from hazards, the scope and severity of which were unpredictable. OSHA's primary responsibilities were to conduct personal air monitoring to characterize exposure, distribute and fit respirators along with other personal protective equipment, and conduct safety monitoring. OSHA committed nearly 1100 staff, sometimes as many as 75 a day. Our employees remained on the site for 10 months providing a 24-hour presence, 7 days a week. Our staff spent more than 120,000 hours onsite. We conducted over 24,000 analyses of individual samples to quantify worker exposure. We collected more than 6,500 air and bulk samples for asbestos, lead, other heavy metals, silica, other inorganic and organic compounds totaling 81 different analytes. Personal sampling was conducted around the clock each day and coordinated with safety and health professionals onsite. OSHA's sampling efforts included breathing zone samples of workers on and near the pile. The tasks included search and recovery, heavy equipment operation, steel cutting and burning, manual debris removal and concrete drilling and cutting. OSHA's breathing zone samples showed exposures that were well below the agency's permissible exposure levels for the majority of chemicals and substances analyzed. To ensure that workers were fully informed about the potential risks, we employed several means to disseminate the information. We distributed sampling summaries to trade unions, site contractors and agencies during daily safety and health meetings. Personal sampling results, including an OSHA contact number were mailed directly to worker. Those whose sample results exceeded the PEL were encouraged to seek medical consultation. We also posted these results on our Web site within 8 hours. OSHA consistently recommended workers on the site wear appropriate respirators. The respirators were selected jointly with all the site safety and health professionals. We agreed on a high level of protection. A half mask, negative pressure respirator with high efficiency particulate/organic/vapor/and acid gas cartridges. This was communicated through orders and notices posted throughout the sites. And you will see a number of exhibits labeled No. 1 through No. 8, as well as the poster in the front showing this. OSHA continued to conduct extensive risk assessment to verify the selected respirators remained appropriate. When sample results for jack hammering and concrete drilling operations indicated a higher level of protection was needed, a full face piece respirator was required for those operations. Shortly after the attack, OSHA became the lead agency for respirator distribution, fitting and training. At the peel of the operation, basically the first 3 weeks, we gave out 4,000 respirators a day. We distributed more than 131,000 during the 10 month recovery period. Mr. SHAYS. Could you repeat that number again? How many? Ms. CLARK. 131,000 in the 10 months. Distribution to workers did pose challenges. OSHA initially deployed staff by foot with bags of respirators. We followed this up by mobile teams on all terrain vehicles, as you will see in exhibit 9. We also established a distribution point at the Queens Marina, which was the fire department of New York's staging point. We opened multiple equipment distribution locations throughout the 16 acres site. You will see two of those in exhibits 10 and 11. OSHA conducted over 7,500 quantitative fit-tests for negative pressure respirators, including nearly 3,000 for FDNY personnel specifically. You can refer to exhibit 12 for that. Fit-testing included instruction on storage, maintenance, the proper use and the limitations of respirators. 45,000 pieces of other protective equipment were given out as well, such as hard hats, glasses and gloves. We are also proud that despite this highly dangerous rescue and recovery mission there was not one fatality. More than 3.7 million work hours were expended during the clean up operations with only 57 non-life threatening injuries. This is really remarkable given the nature and the complexity of the site. The key to success was working in partnership. A joint labor management safety and health committee was established to identify hazards and recommend corrective actions. And unusually high level of safety and health oversight, training and direct involvement of workers resulted. Union stewards met weekly with us and with the other agencies and their employees. They distributed safety bulletins directly to their workers and they held tool box talks. OSHA and the Center to Protect Workers Rights of the AFL-CIO collaborated to provide mandatory safety and health training for all the workers on the project. We learned a great deal at the WTC site, lessons that can help the agency and the Nation improve emergency preparedness. Employers must regularly review and practice evaluations. Also essential to establish channels of communication prior to an emergency. Nationwide, OSHA's reaching out to the entire emergency response community and coordinating this with the Department of Homeland Security. One of the goals in this is to ensure that first responders wear properly fitted and maintained respirators at work sites that may have toxic releases. The agency is also working in partnership with the CPWR to provide skilled support personnel with the training to ensure that America has a work force that is prepared to safely respond to national emergencies. Mr. Chairman, in addition to my concern for workers at the WTC site, I have personal interest in the short and long term effects of exposures because my staff and I spent so much time there, 10 months. Our Manhattan area office was destroyed when the North Tower of the WTC collapsed on our building. During evaluation our employees were exposed to all of the same potential contaminates in the atmosphere as others who were in lower Manhattan that day. I can say with confidence and pride that OSHA's staff did everything humanly possible to protect the workers during their recovery efforts. Thank you. [The prepared statement of Ms. Clark follows:] STATEMENT OF PATRICIA K. CLARK REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, EMERGING THREATS, AND COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM October 28, 2003 Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee: Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) role in protecting workers after the tragic events at the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11, 2001. I am the Regional Administrator for OSHA Region 2, which covers New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. As you know, OSHA's mission is to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for Federal and private sector employees in this Nation. Within hours of the September 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, OSHA joined with other Federal, state and local agencies, as well as safety and health professionals from all the contractors and trade unions on site, to help protect workers involved in recovery, demolition and site clean-up operations. Working under very perilous conditions, OSHA began coordinated efforts to monitor the health and safety of workers at the site. We were pleased to work side-by-side with all our Federal, state and local partners. In line with the Federal Response Plan and the National Contingency Plan, OSHA determined that it could be most effective by providing assistance and consultation to achieve its primary mission-preventing further tragedy during the rescue and recovery work at the World Trade Center and later at the Staten Island Landfill. It was apparent that workers engaged in the response and recovery operations would not be working in a normal industrial setting and that |