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NYC DOH hotline Q&A on HVAC cleaning protocols and asbestos,

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Guidance document explaining requirements for HVAC cleaning and asbestos abatement regulations for building owners.

NYC-WTC_000142741–000142751

Folder label: “DEP 59.17 Junction Blvd, 11th FL

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NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

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detoxification methods are not being recommended by the DOH.

• Why isn’t the DOH recommending that local residents be tested for toxins in the blood? Results of routine air monitoring have not Indicated that medical testing for environmental contaminants is necessary in the general public. In addition, there are no reliable medical tests that can detect short-term, low level exposures to asbestos or other fibers (including fiberglass.) When medical tests are available for environmental contaminants, they only indicate previous exposures. These tests cannot determine where, when, or how long the individual was exposed or whether they will develop health effects related to these exposures.

Medical tests exist for heavy metals, including elemental mercury and lead. The preferred test for lead exposure is a blood test while the most accurate test for environmental exposure to elemental mercury is a urine test. The DOH has investigated reports of elevated mercury among four workers at the site and found that Initial tests of blood mercury were slightly elevated. Blood mercury can be elevated if a person has consumed fish within sixty days of the test. Urine mercury is a more specific test for exposures to metallic (elemental) mercury, the type of mercury of concern for occupational exposures. Follow-up urine tests of these workers did not reveal elevated mercury levels. Personal air sampling at the site among individual workers found that mercury was not elevated in the air. Given these low levels found in both clinical and environmental sampling at the site, at this time testing residents for mercury levels is not warranted.

Medical tests exist to measure levels of RGBs and dioxins in blood, body fat, and breast milk, but these are not routinely conducted for community exposures because most people have low levels of these substances in their bodies already.

Ill OUTDOOR RELATED ISSUES A. Outdoor Air Testing

• Who is doing research on the synergistic effects of the various toxic substances together in the outdoor air?

• Since the only standards for assessing the impact of asbestos are for occupational exposure over 20 years, does this mean that residents of Lower Manhattan could be more at risk for a

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NYC-WTC_000142748Source: NYC Law Department, mirrored locally

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