Fax transmission, Tenants & Neighbors, July 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document 07/19/2002 10:27 FAX 2126197476 Tenants&Nelghbrs Q03

105 Washington — Tenants and Neighbors

Introduction At the request of Claude Rolo and Joe Heaphy of Tenants and Neighbors, asbestos sampling was conducted in the second floor offices of Tenants and Neighbors, located at 10S Washington Street in Manhattan. The survey included a visual inspection of the offices, and sampling surface dust for the presence of asbestos. Edward Olmsted, CIH, CSP performed the survey on May 31, 2002. The purpose of this survey was to determine levels of asbestos contamination on carpets that may have been caused by the collapse of the twin towers of the Trade Center. Asbestos is the most prevalent air contaminant produced during the collapse and as such it serves as a good surrogate for assessing exposure to other air contaminants. These fibers settle in the building as a dust and are likely to remain a problem unless proper cleaning is done. THE FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY INDICATE THAT IN SOME AREAS THE CARPET IS CONTAMINATED WITH ASBESTOS. Levels of asbestos ranged from non- detectable to 9,300 fibers per square centimeter_

Background The World Trade Center (WTC) burned and collapsed on September 11, 2001. The buildings were constructed of cement, steel, glass, gypsum wallboard, acoustical tile ceilings, sprayed-on insulation (asbestos-containing and non-asbestos types) and contained wood, plastic and metal furniture, computers and fixtures and paper products. Most of these materials were either physically destroyed (compressed, pulverized) or burned in the collapse of the building. This process gave rise to particulate matter ranging from a very fine dust to larger sized, quicker settling particles; The dust settled out onto roofs and other surfaces of nearby buildings. The cleaning effort to remove the dust from these buildings has varied and is dependent upon the efforts of the building owner. In the Zed floor offices it was reported that the carpets and other surfaces in the office were cleaned by a contractor shortly after the collapse.

Methods Surface dust samples for the presence of asbestos were collected according to the method 5755-95 published by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). This involves drawing dust from a surface area of 100 square centimeters on a 0.8 micron mixed cellulose ester filter. Disposable paper 100 cm2

templates were used to collect the samples. A new clean template was used for each sample. The dust was collected using a personal sampling pump operated at 2 liters per minute. The filter is analyzed by transmission electron microscopy for asbestos fibers. All of the samples were shipped overnight and analyzed by IATL. This- lab is accredited through the New York State Department of Health environmental lab accreditation program (FLAP).

Exposure Criteria The ASTM method is intended for guidance on examining dust contamination of building surfaces and as a general assessment of the building. There is no suggestion in the ASTM method that it can be used to assess general health risk from asbestos exposure, nor does it suggest that all building surfaces be maintained to the levels published in the standard. The method is generally applicable for the estimation of the concentration of asbestos fibers on surfaces starting from approximately 1000 fibers per square centimeter

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