NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document
Hillmann Environmental Group, LLC
4.6 Hydrogen Sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas with a strong odor. This gas can be found during or after fires, and
can cause varying complaints from headaches to nausea. The OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)
is 10 ppm. Levels of hydrogen sulfide in the subject space remained below the limit of detection of 1
ppm on all investigated days, and therefore below the recommended limits.
4.7 Oxygen
Oxygen is a normal and vital constituent of our atmosphere. The normal level of oxygen in air, at sea
level, is 20.9%. If oxygen levels in a space are at or below 19.5%, the space is considered oxygen
deficient (by OSHA 29 CFR Part 1910.94, 30 CFR Part 11 and ANSI Standard Z88.5-1973) and is unable
to safely support human occupancy. The oxygen levels ranged from 20.7% to 21.2% in the subject space,
and were within the recommended range.
4.8 Combustible Gasses
Combustible gasses are combustible, explosive and present a danger as such, especially when contained
in a structure. Levels should mostly be below 1% and never exceed 10% in an occupied area. The LEL
levels were below the limit of detection of 1.0% in the subject space at all times during the investigation.
4.9 Airborne Asbestos Fibers
Levels of airborne asbestos fibers ranged from below the limit of quantification to 0.005 fibers/cc. The
EPA NESHAP standard is 0.01 fibers/cc. Observed levels were well below this limit. Bulk dust samples
were also taken from various areas in the subject space to ensure cleaning procedures were effective after
the World Trade Center collapse. Asbestos fibers were not detected in any of these samples.
4.10 Bulk Asbestos Samples
The U.S. EPA and NYSDEP define Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM) as any material containing
greater than 1% asbestos. No asbestos was identified in the samples collected.
Cushman & Wakefield/44 Wall Street, New York, NY/Project Number N3-7476 Page 9
NYC-WTC 000094941
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