DEP response regarding interior cleaning procedures, 114 Liberty Street, 2003

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

This is in response to your recent e-mail correspondence and the attachment regarding the cleaning activities for the removal of debris from the WTC at 114 Liberty Street, Manhattan. As you are aware, the Department of Environmental Protection has programs for cleaning exterior building surfaces and for the interior cleaning interior surfaces of unoccupied residential or mixed-use buildings.

The Department contracted an environmental consultant to prepare scopes of work for the cleaning of the interior spaces that includes a separate set of procedures for the cleaning of the HVAC system and for the environmental monitoring. The USEPA and the Department reviewed and edited the submittal to ensure protection of the environment and public health. Copies of these documents were forwarded to representatives of your building.

The Department had agreed to make some modifications to the scopes of work in the interest of proceeding with the work in a timely effective manner. The scope of work includes the cleaning of residential, commercial, retail spaces, common spaces, etc. The procedures for sending out hid packages, setting up the mandatory pre-bid meeting, opening and awarding contracts, etc. are well established. We cannot select a specific contractor for the work nor can we bid out work we cannot perform.

The Department has reviewed your request to remove interior walls and ceilings, and exterior walls down to the brick and has reviewed the specifications prepared by your consultant. As mentioned in our previous conversations, the Department cannot undertake this work as a part of the program for cleaning interior surfaces. The specifications submitted to the Department also contain procedures that are burdensome, time consuming, and do not provide protection to public health and safety or the environment. For example, in this whole building cleaning, the specification calls for covering the floor with polyethylene sheeting, cleaning, removing the sheeting, removing the flooring, and then cleaning the sub-floor. The purpose to covering the floors with sheeting is unclear.

In reference to the cleaning activities at 125 Cedar Street, we did not perform interior demolition work. The scope of work was limited to the removal of small sections of sheet rock where visible mold growth was evident and to buckled flooring where the flooring was separated from the substrate below. The top of the dropped ceiling at the lobby was cleaned as part of the cleaning activity. Suspended ceiling tiles are removed and disposed in the specification due to the porous nature and the difficulty in properly cleaning this building material.

Further, the Department cannot undertake the removal of debris created by any party taking down these surfaces. A licensed asbestos contractor must perform any interior work unless sufficient samples are collected to show the material is not asbestos-containing material. The Department cleaning of the interior surfaces may be performed after the debris is removed from the site and a preliminary cleaning is performed.

If you have any questions, please contact Penny Theodorellys at (718) 595-3657.

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