Law Department notice on WTC document preservation, Oct 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

1. Health and Safety Issues

1.1 Electrical Concerns

All areas of the building were inspected to ensure that no electrical concerns posed a threat to the safety of employees. In the Food Exchange, live, loose hanging electrical wires were foimd. Electricity at the panel box was shut off and the wires in question were taped.

1.2 Building Repairs

A damaged hand rail in the Liberty Street stairwell was reinstalled to ensure the safety of personnel. All other repairs made prior to commencement of the work related to building access.

13 Building Access

The only access concern related to broken windows in the Chiropractor’s Office, In order to prevent unauthorized access, which could potentially pose risks to both public health and to equipment used in the study, plywood panels were installed over the broken windows.

1.4 Rodent Infestation

In the process of inspecting to identify safety concerns, evidence of rodent infestation was discovered (droppings). The building owner was advised of the problem and contacted an exterminator.

1.5 Personal Monitoring

Every morning, the Site Health and Safety Officer calibrated the personal pumps. The initial flow, pxnnp start time, pump serial number, date, location of pump, and sample number were recorded. Personal pumps are typically worn by employees to collect air samples that are representative of what die employees are experiencing while working. Given the space constraints of the work areas and the number of parameters to be measured, the majority of exposure measurements were made using area samples.

Pumps for the three parameters were mounted on five-foot tripod stands, in lieu of being worn by the employees. The Site Health and Safety officer collected media blanks at a rate of 10% of samples. At the raid of the day, the stand was disassembled and the final flow rate and finish time were recorded. The total volume was calculated and the samples were packaged and forwarded to EPA’s contracted laboratoiy. The laboratory is accredited for analysis of lead and silica by the American Industrial Hygiene Association and by the NVLAP for asbestos. The air samples were analyzed by the laboratory for asbestos, using one or both of the following procedures: PCM /TEM,

Sampling for airborne lead ceased on July 24,2002, after consistent results of non-detectable concentrations. Sampling for asbestos and silica continued throughout the project to the extent commensurate with the task and crew size.

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