New York City leaders call for agency to oversee cleanup at World Trade Center

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK – A group of elected officials has urged the city to create an agency to oversee the environmental cleanup of the World Trade Center site.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields said Monday that the numerous agencies working at the site have made it difficult to obtain reliable information about environmental safety conditions.

"We are concerned that the cleanup process up to date is not being administered in a uniform way, that some areas are being properly decontaminated and others are not being cleaned at all," said Nadler.

The Democrats also released a report showing that the air in lower Manhattan has tested positive for dangerous levels of asbestos and other toxins. The privately conducted report found high levels of toxins in samples taken in mid-September.

Republican Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who has maintained that the air in downtown Manhattan is safe, said information on air quality is available with the Department of Environmental Protection.

AP-WS-11-20-01 1226EST