Superfund Money May Be Used to Clean Up NYC, Washington D.C.

Danielle Jackson

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering using existing Superfund money to help clean up the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

According to EPA spokesman Chris Paulitz, treating the two locations as Superfund sites without formally declaring them so is allowed by laws dealing with hazardous waste.

Tests of rubble from the World Trade Center show elevated levels of asbestos, but EPA tests show that the air a mile and a half downwind from the World Trade Center shows no significant levels of lead, asbestos and other chemicals in the air, either because they are undetectable or because the levels are not high enough to cause concern.