Letter regarding asbestos air tests at 310 Greenwich Street, Jan

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

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Diane S. Lapson IPNTA — Environmental Committee 40 Harrison Street 31B New York, NY 10013 (212) 473-5900 (work) (212) 777-0337 (fax) December 15, 2002

Christopher O. Ward, Commissioner New York City Department of Environmental Protection 59-17 Junction Blvd. Flushing, NY 11313

Dear Commissioner Ward: Association, representing more I am writing on behalf of the Independence Plaza Tenant on Greenwich Street than 4000 tenants of Independence Plaza North (IPN), located between Duane and North Moore Streets. cloud caused by the As you are no doubt aware, IPN was severely impacted by the dust indeed, destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Our homes and, dust to airborne our entire neighborhood, continued for over eight months to be subjected to our created by the debris-removal operation on Pier 25, which is virtually adjacent complex. an environmental We have been trying to get the responsible government agencies to do DEP nor any other cleanup of our buildings for more than a year. In all that time, neither agency was willing to test our buildings for contaminants.

Therefore, out of concern for the health and well-being of IPN tenants, the Tenant one of Association hired MVA, Inc. laboratory to test a piece of carpet from the hallway of method that our towers, at 310 Greenwich Street, for asbestos, using the ultrasonication the results of the Dr. Millette developed for the EPA. We are enclosing herewith a copy of asbestos ultrasonication test, which show an extremely high level of asbestos (1.3 million -month structures per square centimeter). Given this test result, plus our massive 8 carpeting in IPN exposure to WTC dust, it is reasonable to assume that all of the hallway contains asbestos. that affixes the Recently, DEP ordered IPN's landlord to have testing done of the mastic since carpet mastic carpeting to the cement floor. Asbestos experts have advised us that, asbestos coming is a non-friable material, EPA's ultrasonication test will not show any from dust from carpet mastic. The test will only detect asbestos which comes have no contamination of the carpet. Therefore, the results of the recent mastic testing ordered by the IPN relevance to the enclosed results of the carpet ultrasonication test, tenant association. carpeting itself. Air Therefore, we hereby request that further testing be done on the IPN or ultrasonication testing should be supplemented with other testing methods - namely contamination of microvac - that would more accurately reflect the potential for asbestos the need (or lack the IPN complex. Such testing must be sufficient to demonstrate thereof) for asbestos abatement of the hallways of IPN buildings.

NYC-WTC 000109346