Aug 19, 2007 6:54 pm US/Eastern
Lower Manhattan Residents Worry About Air Quality
Officials Maintain Air Is Safe, But Will Continue Testing
By Dave Carlin, CBS 2 News
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The vacant Deutsche Bank skyscraper burns in Lower Manhattan opposite Ground Zero in New York on Aug. 18, 2007.
Nicholas Roberts/AFP/Getty Images
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New York Fire Department vehicles pack the streets near the vacant Deutsche Bank skyscraper as it burned in Lower Manhattan opposite Ground Zero in New York on Aug. 18, 2007.
Nicholas Roberts/AFP/Getty Images
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The Deustche Bank building that was damaged during the 9/11 attacks caught fire on Aug. 18, 2007.
CBS
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Mayor Michael Bloomberg announces the deaths of two firefighters killed battling a seven-alarm fire at the former Deutsche Bank skyscraper near ground zero in New York on Aug. 18, 2007.
CBS
Lower Manhattan residents are worried about the air quality around the abandoned Deutsche Bank building after the tower caught fire on Saturday.
The former Deutsche Bank building is so close to Patricia Moore's apartment, she said, "There was debris raining down" on it. She could feel the heat and choked on smoke at the time of the fire.
The fire's gone but her fear is not. A number of things worry her, including "scaffolding collapsing, another fire, quality of the air."
Moore was part of a tour of the site led by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. Earlier Governor Eliot Spitzer got a first hand look. He described the scene as being "out of a horror movie."
"The residents here, the workers here, there are people here who legitimately that they have not been getting over the years the sort of free flowing information they deserve," said Gov. Spitzer after touring the toxic tower where two firefighters died. "We will give them that information and make sure they get it when we have it."
Air-quality tests continue, and city and state officials say so far the levels show the air is safe.
"Every one of them has been negative for asbestos," said Gov. Spitzer.
But Stringer says more tests are needed and he's demanding the immediate testing of many surrounding buildings.
"We want to look at the air conditioning vents. We want to make sure that the table tops are clean," said Stringer. "We want to make sure that the testing goes beyond the building."
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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