New York's transit agency plans to postpone demolition of a building near the World Trade Center site because of possible contamination with toxic dust.
A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control detailed the respiratory ailments experienced by survivors of the collapse of the Twin Towers and by rescue workers. CDC researchers said that said that the dust generated by the collapse was surprisingly dangerous.
The Metropolitan Transit Agency decided to get an environmental report before taking down 189 Broadway, a two-story building empty since Sept. 11, 2001. The building is on the site of a proposed transit center.
"The MTA's decision was smart and sound," Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said. "In what is, sadly, an aberration from usual practice in Lower Manhattan, a major agency has decided to put residents' and workers' safety first. We're all looking forward to the new Fulton Street station, but there is no excuse for sloppiness when lives could be on the line."
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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