Memorandum from the Commissioner of Health regarding steps taken to ensure employee safety upon return to downtown buildings after September 11.
NYC-WTC_000153311–000153312
OCR status: ok · source: pdftotext
NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document . I Jeanine Prudhomme - air quality letter 0ct5 edits.doc Page
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TO: All DOH Employees
FROM: Neal L. Cohen. M.D. Commissioner
DATE: Octobers, 2001
SUBJECT: Health and Safety Issues for Returning to DOH Buildings in the Downtown Area
Beginning the week of September 24, Department cf Health employees were asked to return to work in downtown buildings that had been evacuated following the World Trade Center disaster on September 11, 2001. I would like to inform you of the steps which have been taken to ensure the health and safety for employees returning to work in the downtown area.
The City has required that buildings located in the secured areas following September 11 be subject to a comprehensive inspection. This inspection included: assessment of building stability; safe functioning of building utilities (e.g. gas, water, steam and electric, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems); and clean-up of interior dust and debris, followed by testing for hazardous materials such as asbestos.
Based on the results of these inspections, it was determined that all downtown DOH buildings (including both City-owned and leased) were found to be safe for re-occupancy and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) worked with the DOH to coordinate clean-up efforts. Currently, the DOH Bureau of Operations is In the process of replacing filters on window air conditioning units in buildings that do not have centralized heating and air conditioning systems. Window air conditioners should not be turned on until the filters have been changed. Centralized heating and air conditioning systems (HVAC) filters are also being vacuumed before being turned on. It is also recommended that windows be kept closed if visible smoke or dust is near the building.
From a health perspective, the substances of concern that may have been released into the air include asbestos and fine airborne particles. Therefore, tests to date have focused primarily on assessing these substances.
Concerns have been expressed regarding tha potential for asbestos to be
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NYC-WTC_000153311
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