EPA letter on WTC site visual assessments, Feb 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

New York City Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Environmental Compliance

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection Asbestos Control Program (ACP) with assistance from representatives of the NYS Department of Labor (NYS DOL) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) performed site visits at buildings in the vicinity of the World Trade Center. These site visits were scheduled in January and February 2002 to perform visual assessments of clean-up activities and the presence of visible debris at building exteriors. These assessments were a follow-up for activities performed in October and November 2001.

The visual assessments disclosed the >• esence of various amounts of debris with various dispersal patterns of the building exteriors. The majority of buildings had isolated areas of debris specifically at the perimeter of the rooi's, at the base of parapet walls, and in gutters. Debris was also visible at horizontal surfaces on building facades. For some buildings, building facades facing the street were cleaned while the facades at the rear remained dirty.

The observed debris was characteristic of the debris from the impact of September 11, 2001. The majority of the debris appears to have reformed into a dense mass (caked).

Letters were forwarded to building owners identifying the observations, and the requirements for assessment and clean up, if necessary. Subsequently, the ACP scheduled follow-up site visits to determine clean-up activities. During these follow-up visits, samples of the debris were collected. The uneven dispersal identified above was also evident in the sample collection. Samples collected from various buildings indicated that some of the debris was asbestos­ containing material. Other samples did not disclose the presence of asbestos, and others were trace or below 1% asbestos.

In the absence of sampling data for specific buildings, it is recommended that NYS DOL licensed asbestos contractors with NYC DEP and NYS DOL certified workers perform the clean-up activities. In addition, an independent third party must perform air monitoring during the clean-up activities.

Supporting documentation is attached for your reference. The information includes a summary of the visual inspections and the areas identified for clean-up, scopes of work for clean up of the roofs and/or building facades, estimated cost for the clean-up activities.

Rev 1 February 28,2002

NYC-WTC_000151616