Law Department notice on WTC document preservation, Oct 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Table 3-1: Actions by New York City

Date Key statement 09-14-01 NYCDEP provided a notice to building owners entitled “Clean-up of Asbestos Containing Material.” For “minimal dust accumulations (light coating)” the notice recommended using wet methods and/or vacuums equipped with HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filters. For "accumulations of dust that included pieces of debris” the procedures provided for two options. Building owners could assume that the material was asbestos­ containing material and have it cleaned in accordance with NYCDEP Asbestos Abatement Program removal procedures, or have the material sampled by a NYCDEP certified investigator or New York State Department of Labor inspector to determine whether the material was asbestos-containing material and subject to New York City’s Asbestos Abatement Program removal procedures. Asbestos-containing material was identified as any material containing more than one percent asbestos. 09-16-01 The NYCDEP issued a “Public Notice” flyer to building owners that discussed building maintenance issues. The notice stated that building owners/managers should have possible contamination problems reviewed by competent professionals. 09-17-01 NYCDOH issued a press release that recommended that individuals reentering their residences and places of work remove dust by using a wet rag or wet mop, and vacuum with a HEPA filtration vacuum. If a HEPA vacuum was not available, the press release recommended using HEPA bags or dust allergen bags with a regular vacuum cleaner. EPA’s web site also linked to these instructions. 09-26-01 NYCDEP issued a notice to building owners entitled “Clean-up of Debris inside Buildings" which was identical to the notice issued on 9-14-01 except for three items. First, the notice did not say “accumulations of dust that include pieces of debris .. may be assumed to be ACM (asbestos-containing material).” Second, the notice stated that such accumulations “can be sampled" (rather than “must be sampled") by a NYCDEP certified investigator or New York State Department of Labor inspector. Third, the notice stated that EPA had studied the situation and reported “that the potential presence of ACM in dust and debris is minimal.” 10-25-01 NYCDEP described benchmarks and guidelines used to evaluate environmental conditions in a letter to Lower Manhattan residents dated October 25. In regard to cleaning indoor spaces the letter stated: “If more than 1 percent asbestos was found and testing and cleaning was necessary, it had to be performed by certified personnel.” In addition, the statement indicated landlords should not reopen any building until a competent professional had properly inspected their building. The City’s Asbestos Abatement Program requires that building owners file a written notification with the NYCDEP for asbestos abatement projects that do not require plan or permit approval from the City’s Buildings Department NYCDEP officials told us this notification applied to buildings owners who found more than 1 percent asbestos in bulk dust in their buildings (see Appendix J for a copy of the instructions).

NYCDEP officials told us that in September 2001 they began visually inspecting the exteriors of over 1,000 buildings and identified 323 with visible dust. NYCDEP documentation indicated that 102 of these 323 building exteriors were subsequently cleaned by the building owners. NYCDEP officials told us that the remaining owners stated they could not afford to clean their buildings, and these buildings were cleaned by NYCDEP with funding provided by FEMA. To determine the extent of indoor contamination in Lower Manhattan residences.

23 Report No. 2003-P-00012

NYC-WTC_000145543