NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document
Summary ofAsbestos Sampling Results Page 2 of 3
Address: 161 East 88"' Street Date sampled: December 8, 2001
Results of Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM) testing of air at 161 East 88*^ Street, Dec. 8, 2001
Area Sampled Outside Common Residence 1
Sample Numbers A-0-32 A-C-32 A-Rl-32
A-Rl-X-32 *
Concentration of Fibers at 161 East <0.001
<0.001 0.002
88* Street (^cc)**
0.001*
Concentration of Fibers in air at all <0.001 to 0.001 <0.001 to 0.002 <0.001 to 0.003
background locations (f/cc)
NYC Re-occupancy Standard 0.01 0.01 0.01
(f/cc)***
* Denotes a second air sample taken in the same location.
** f/cc is fibers in each cubic centimeter (cc) of air. This is calculated from the number of fibers seen on the air
filter and the volume of air pulled through the filter measured in cubic centimeters.
*** New York City Department of Environmental Protection asbestos clearance criteria for post-abatement work
(Rules of the City of New York, Title 15, Chapter 1)
ASBESTOS DUST TEST RESULTS
In general, the dust and debris samples were examined by two different laboratory methods for
asbestos fibers, Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy
(TEM). PLM is used to define asbestos containing material in dust and debris. A material is
considered to be asbestos containing material if it contains more than 1% asbestos using the PLM
method. The PLM method only counts the larger asbestos fibers. Therefore, if results by PLM
were not greater than 1% asbestos, the sample was then analyzed by the TEM method that does
count the smaller fibers. However, TEM analysis is not used for regulatory purposes for dust
samples.
No asbestos fibers were found in the dust samples from the common area or in the residence by
the PLM laboratory method. TEM analysis also did not detect any asbestos in the indoor dust.
Not enough visible dust and debris was available for collection in the outdoor area.
Fibrous materials in dust found by Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM) Analysis: PLM
identifies asbestos fibers by shape and optical characteristics. Other fibers such as fabric
(synthetics), paper (cellulose) and fiberglass may be identified in the analysis. The laboratory
analyst will count the fibers present to give an estimate of fiber content.
CITY_21MC100_010212846
NYC-WTC_000208395
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