Asbestos air and dust test results, BMCC, Feb 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Re: Asbestos & Lead Testing Page 2 of 3

For several weeks after the disaster, the Gymnasium was used by members of the rescue and recovery operation. There is concern that these personnel may have carried asbestos and lead contamination on their clothing when they returned to the building. H. A. Bader Consultants scope of work was to determine if there is a potential asbestos and/or lead related hcalth concern in the Gymnasium. The asbestos testing in the 6' Floor Classrooms and Portable Classrooms on West Street was to evaluate if the barge transfer operation across West Street is creating an asbestos related hazard.

If ashestos fibers enter a building they may. remain airborne or settle onto fixed surfaces (primarily horizontal surfaces). Lead dust is heavy and settles very quickly. H. A. Bader Consultants testing methods concentrated on both airborne and surface -testing for asbestos and only surface testing for lead.

Lead Testing_

The U.S. Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the City of New York Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) have established allowable levels of lead dust in residential settings occupied by children. The HUD/DEP clearance level is of 40 µg/ft2.

Eleven lead dust samples from the Gymnasium and one from the south corridor outside the Gymnasium were taken. 10 samples were below the level of detection. The remaining 2 samples had lead levels well below the HUD/DEP clearance level. Reference the attached laboratory results from EMSL Analytical. This testing indicates that lead contamination is not present in the Gymnasium Area,

Asbestos Air SampIipg

Five air samples were taken in the Gymnasium, one in the Corridor, two.'in 6" Floor Classrooms and Four in the Portable Classrooms. The samples were analyzed by an accredited asbestos laboratory using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM analysis is very accurate for finding eveLI trace amounts of asbestos fibers present in the air.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a protocol for determining whether school areas are safe for re-occupancy after completion of asbestos abatement projects. This procedure is covered by EPA 40 CFR Part 763, Asbestos-Containing Materials in Schools. The procedures state that the average asbestos airborne fiber level in the abated work area must be less than 70 asbestos structures per square millimeter (AS/mm2).

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