NYC-WTC_000199886

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Summary of Environmental Sampling Conducted at PS 234

A. Sampling Conducted Independently by the New York City Board of Education

Initial Asbestos Testing (October 2, 2001)

ATC performed the initial asbestos testing in and around the school on October 2, 2001. That testing included collection of 50 dust samples and 20 ambient air samples from inside the school, and three debris samples from the roof of the school. ATC reported that none of the 50 dust samples contained any detectable asbestos fibers, and none of the 20 air samples contained any asbestos structures. Two of the three debris samples from the roof contained traces of asbestos, at less than 1 percent.

Follow-up Testing for Asbestos (October 4-16, 2001)

Aggressive air sampling (sampling conducted with ventilation systems operating and using a leaf blower to mobilize dust from surfaces into the air) was conducted for asbestos on October 4, prior to the beginning of cleaning operations at the school, and October 16, following the cleanup activities. The October 4 sampling included the analysis of five samples from inside the school. Three of those five samples contained no asbestos structures, while the other two samples contained 3 and 14.8 structures/mm^, respectively, less than the AHERA clearance level of 70 structures/mm^. The October 16 testing included the collection of eight air samples from inside the school for analysis of asbestos. All eight of the air samples were found to contain no asbestos structures. In addition to the air testing, four wipe samples were collected from lockers around the school on October 14. All four of those samples were reported to have no asbestos detected.

Debris and Soil Sampling for Asbestos (October 30,2001)

Following a site inspection involving the Board of Education, School Construction Authority, ENVIRON and PTA representatives, ATC performed additional testing of debris from the roof and under the rubber padding in the playground, as well as soils from planters located in the school yard. ENVIRON had recommended the cleanup of the debris in all these areas based on visual observations made during an initial inspection of the school. One sample of debris from the roof was found to contain 1.5 percent asbestos, which is above the 1 percent limit used to define an asbestos-containing material. Most of the other roof debris samples contained between a trace of asbestos and 0.75 percent asbestos. Based on these results, the School Construction Authority (SCA) contracted for the removal of all the stone ballast and debris from the roof.

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CITY_21MC100_008972437

NYC-WTC_000199886