DEP advisory to residents regarding WTC dust, Oct 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

WTC RESIDENTIAL DUST CLEANUP PROGRAM COMMON AREA AND HVAC FACT SHEET

People living south of Canal, Allen and Pikes Streets in lower Manhattan who are concerned that dust from the collapse of the World Trade Center may still be present in their residences may request assistance from EPA. Assistance offered includes the evaluation and cleanup (if necessary) of the common areas and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems (HVACs) of residential housing (this fact sheet) as well as the cleaning and/or testing of individual residential units (See separatefact sheet: Cleaning & Testing).

Cleanup work will be conducted by contractors and workers (the Cleanup Contractor) certified by New York State and New York City. Separate, third-party contractors, also licensed by New York State, will oversee the cleanup work and will conduct all testing (the Project Monitor). Further oversight will be provided by EPA personnel. All personnel involved in this program will carry appropriate photo identification.

Owners and managers of residential buildings and coop boards can request to have their building’s common areas cleaned and HVAC system evaluated and cleaned, if necessary. If a tenant association makes this request, EPA will seek agreement by building owner or manager. The Agency encourages tenant associations to work to coordinate residents' requests within a given building.

After receiving the request, common areas such as the building lobby, hallways, stairways and elevator interiors will be cleaned. Other common areas including laimdry rooms, utility rooms, compactor rooms, and elevator shafts will be evaluated and cleaned as needed.

Unless EPA approves otherwise (based on die circumstance of an individual building), no residential, common space or HVAC system will be cleaned until the exterior of the building has been cleaned. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is cleaning building exteriors. EPA will then evaluate, and if necessary clean, an HVAC system upon agreement from the building owner or manager. Finally, EPA will clean residences and common spaces.

The Project Monitor will provide daily oversight of cleaning operations, EPA staff will also visit the buildings to oversee work. When cleaning is completed, the Project Monitor will do a visual inspection. If any dust is seen, the residence will be re-cleaned as necessary. Once the visual inspection finds the residence to be dust fi-ee, final air sampling will be authorized. Air samplers are run for approximately eight hours. These samplers draw in a measured volume of room air and collect dust particles fi-om the air on a filter. The collected dust is then examined in a laboratory for asbestos.

EPA will notify building residents and owners of the results of the post-cleanup airborne asbestos testing as soon as possible. Our goal is to provide this in writing within one month.

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