ATSDR/DHAC recommendations for building sampling, Sept 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

environments) contain materials that may be of public health concern. 3) Another suggestion: to provide information to the public; 4)another suggestion: conduct personal sampling during professional cleaning efforts to determine potential exposures to the public if they perform similar cleaning activities.

Information from a south Battery Park resident supports the need to assess indoor and outdoor environmental health issues. Burning throats have been reported to be a common problem in the recently re-occupied residential areas. Residents in south Battery Park, who left windows open prior to the WTC collapse, have settled dust in their homes. Some have disposed of furniture, stereo equipment, etc., because they were covered with “ash and dust.” Homes in the Tribeca zone (Chambers Street to Murray Street, west of Broadway) are not yet occupied, but were reported to have roofs covered with hand-sized chunks of insulation-like material that contain small pieces of mica-like material. In addition, the mica-like material has clogged roof drains and resulted in standing pools of water on residential roof tops. Finally, streets, sidewalks and other open spaces are periodically cleaned (HEPA vacuum trucks) and wetted (water trucks). However, the resident and others have reported swirling dust throughout the area.

IL Sampling Objective:

The overall objective of this sampling is to provide results upon which public health agencies can determine the potential for environmental exposures and possible health effects from the WTC building collapse. Sampling will [delete..begin to] characterize ambient and indoor airborne and potentially airborne particles (surface dust) that remain in residential areas and commercial areas of lower Manhattan from the collapse of the World Trade Center.

Specific Objectives, in order of priority are: 1. Characterize the make-up and size distribution of settled dust and airborne breathing zone dust in residential and commercial areas-both indoors and outside-closest to the WTC. This information will be used to determine if materials are present at levels of public health concern; and if materials present in settled surface dust can become airborne and result in exposures of public health concern, [delete...the best methods for cleaning/removing the materials; and the best methods to prevent/minimize future material track-in into residential areas].

2. Characterize the make-up and size distribution of settled dust and airborne breathing zone dust in other residential and commercial areas-both indoors and outside-located further from the WTC, but still impacted by debris and dust from the collapse. For example, modeling the debris/dust impact areas may indicate residential areas more than ten blocks away were affected, as debris and dust from the collapse were forced along street arteries [EPA’s ERT is attempting to determine if this modeling is possible]. Other suggestion: Base sampling on aerial photography from 9/11 or 9/12, or from other visual signs like debris and settled dust on roofs. Impact areas further from the site of collapse may have dust/debris with a different composition than what settled closer to the WTC. This information will be used to determine if

Page 2 of

NYC-WTC_000152816