NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document
Any "overload" results should be presumed to be higher than 70 s/mm^ for two reasons.
First, "overload" means that there was such an excess of particulate material on the collection
device that the laboratory could not even make a reading, meaning there was a high level of
all particulates, including asbestos.
Second, whenever there were "overload" results from the TEM tests in early days, the
corresponding tests at the same location using a light microscope (PCM) were much higher
than the PCM levels where asbestos was verifiably over 70 s/mm^. In other words, paired
tests looked like this:
TEM electron microscope result PCM light microscope result
Location A 45 s/mm^ 0.010 f/cc
Location B 157 s/mm^ 0.040 f/cc
Location C overload 0.080 f/cc
Even if the "overload" results are ignored, then 18% of the 87 tests (16 out of 87) between
9/12/01 and 9/29/01 were over 70 s/mm^ . This is significant.
In contrast, in its 10/3/01 press release, EPA claimed that only 6% (27 out of442) air
samples IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY of Ground Zero were over 70 s/mm^ . ’
Summary of deletions and alterations of the original NYC data
The Appendix to this memorandum compares the two different versions of the same NYC ,
Tests above 70 s/mm^
NYC altered 6 of the original test results that showed asbestos over 70 s/mm . NYC altered
the data by either deleting the sampling location and accompanying data altogether, claiming
that no asbestos was found (below the detection limit), or claiming that there were no TEM
tests at the particular location for that day.
"Overload" tests
NYC altered 11 of the results that were overloaded. Overload means that there were such "X
high levels of asbestos and other particulates in the test device that asbestos could not even I
be counted. As discussed earlier, overload samples are presumptive of concentrations over I
70 s/mm^. NYC altered the data by either claiming that no asbestos was found (below the k
detection limit), or claiming that there were no TEM tests at the particular location for that J
day.
Tests where asbestos found, but below 70 s/mm^
NYC also altered the tests results where asbestos was found in the air, but found at levels
lower than 70 s/mm^ . This is highly significant as well, because NYC as well as EPA were
claiming that there was no detectable asbestos in most instances. The altered version of the
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NYC-WTC_000161677
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