NYC Law Department letter regarding EPA draft report excerpts, July

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Date Key Statement 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 (high efficiency particulate air) 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. The procedures in this press release were referred to multiple times by EPA officials in press releases and included in the EPA website concerning the World Trade Center attacks, (see Appendix N for a copy of the press release). 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 the dust in their buildings (see Appendix O for a copy of the instructions).

NYCDEP officials told us that there is no regulatory or statutory authority to they did not [ conduct a certification program to determine the level of compliance with their instructions regarding the testing and cleaning of asbestos inside buildings. This is a purely voluntary program. In January and February 2002, NYCDEP contacted building owners by express mail and asked them to file reports. This was followed up by a second mailing to building owners who did not respond, and by visits, but not inspections, by inspectors to building owners, who had not responded. The only authority to conduct inspections of buildings is if a complaint is made, or if the building owner filed notification with NYCDEP as a result of finding bulk samples containing more than 1% asbestos. NYCDEP received over 300 complaints with respect to asbestos inside buildings and conducted inspections in cases where inspections were warranted. concerning every complaint. In conducting these inspections. NYCDEP found only 1 case where a bulk sample exceeded 1% asbestos. There were 56 instances, pursuant to the Asbestos Control Program, where building owners reported bulk sample levels of 1% maim) instance

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