Fax cover sheet regarding Independence Plaza environmental data, Oct 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document 1223O2 MON 1.1:45 FAX .12 777 0337 Q 002

Diane S. Lapson IPNTA.__ Environmental Committee • 40 Harrison Street P11 New York, NY 10013 (212) 473-5900 (W®rkj (212) 777-0331 (fax) December 15, 2002

Christopher 0. Ward, Commissioner New York City Department of Environmental Protection 59-17 Junction Blvd. Flushing, NY 11313

Dear Commissioner Ward: representing more I am writing on behalf of the Independence Plaza Tenant Association, Greenwich Street than 4000 tenants of Independence Plaza North (IPN), located on between Duane and North Moore Streets. caused by the As you are no doubt aware, IPN was severely impacted by the dust cloud destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Our homes and, indeed, subjected to airborne dust our entire neighborhood, continued for over eight months to be to our created by the debris-removal operation on Pier 25, which is virtually adjacent complex. environmental We have been trying to get the responsible government agencies to do an any other cleanup of our buildings for more than a year. In all that time, neither DEP nor agency was willing to test our buildings for contaminants. Tenant Therefore, out of concern for the health and well-being of IPN tenants, the Association hired MVA, Inc. laboratory to test a piece of carpet from the hallway of one of method that our towers, at 310 Greenwich Street, for asbestos, using the ultrasonication !•esults of the Dr. Millette developed for the EPA. We are enclosing herewith a copy of the ultrasonication test, which show an extremely high level of asbestos (1.3 million asbestos -month structures per square centimeter). Given this test result, plus our massive 8 exposure to WTC dust, it is reasonable to assume that all of the hallway carpeting in IPN contains asbestos.

Recently, DEP ordered IPN's landlord to have testing done of the mastic that affixes the mastic carpeting to the cement floor. Asbestos experts have advised us that, since carpet any asbestos coming is a non-friable material, EPA's ultrasonication test will not show from carpet mastic. The test will only detect asbestos which comes from dust contamination of the carpet. Therefore, the results of the recent mastic testing have no the IPN relevance to the enclosed results of the carpet ultrasonication test, ordered by tenant association_ Air Therefore, we hereby request that further testing be done on the IPN carpeting itself. ultrasonication or testing should be supplemented with other testing methods - namely contamination of microvac - that would more accurately reflect the potential for asbestos to demonstrate the need (or lack the IPN complex. Such testing must be sufficient thereof) for asbestos abatement of the hallways of IPN buildings

NYC-WTC 000154934