EPA letter to Congress regarding 114 Liberty cleanup, September 2003

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

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EPA’s use of surface wipe and microvacuum sampling at its WTC Residential Confirmation Cleaning Study site (110 Liberty) was intended to provide a measure of cleaning effectiveness, and not a risk-based health assessment.

Thus, EPA must accept the residents’ testing as a sufficient demonstration that the EPAZNYCDEP abatement was not effective at 114 Liberty St.

EPA erroneously dismissed tenant testing as representing inaccessible areas; cleanup of HVAC systems required by the EPA contract specifications EPA/NYCDEP’s 8/4/03 letter to FEMA dismissed the testing submitted by the residents with a the false claim that areas tested were inaccessible, and that any asbestos found in these inaccessible areas came from asbestos containing building materials already present in 114 Liberty before the collapse of the WTC: [I]f appears many samples were collected from inaccessible areas below the hardwood flooring, or from areas of unknown accessibility such as, wall tracking, pipe shafts, and I- beams. The scope of the work developed for the clean up activities was designed for the removal of debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center and did not include the removal or remediation of pre-existing building materials.

Asbestos containing materials (ACMs), such as floor tiles, were observed during DEP’s cleaning of the building. Some of the ACMs may be present under the hardwood flooring, thus samples collected from this location may be more representative of the building materials contained within the building rather than indicating contamination from other sources. Additionally, DEP noted and reported the presence of thermal system insulation and damaged asbestos-containing fireproofing within the building.

Clearly EPA made no attempt to determine the accessibility of the areas tested by the residents before dismissing them as being from previously existing asbestos containing building materials. A simple inquiry to the on-scene coordinator would have revealed this fact. The areas with high dust accumulations were inside the exposed ventilation and air conditioning system, which was exposed and made accessible by EPAZNYCDEP for the express purpose of abatement.

Prior to the clean-up, EPA/NYCDEP agreed to remove the suspended drywall ceilings and one side of the walls to gain accessibility to the ventilation and AC system. As stated earlier, the system used an open return through the ceiling plenum above a suspended diywall ceiling, which was open to the wall spaces. Opening the ceiling and one side of each wall was the only way to make the system accessible for cleaning. These spaces were intentionally made accessible.

The EPA contractual Statement of Work* requires that the whole of any impacted HVAC system be cleaned, as follows: Cleaning of HVAC Systems HVAC systems that are determined by the Monitoring Contractor to be impacted by dust or debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center will be cleaned in accordance with the site-specific scope of work prepared by the Monitoring Contractor and approved by

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