KEEPING HEALTHY AND SANE DURING CONSTRUCTION
DUST and exhaust fumes are supposed to be controlled, but problems may be encountered:
1) Large, visible particulates are the main cause of breathing problems in construction, and can result in sore throats, cough, eye irritation, and exacerbation of asthma; and
2) Diesel fumes from machinery, vehicles, etc. release finer particles, which can also exacerbate asthma symptoms and other lung problems.
Measures, you can use against the potentially harmful effects of the dust and exhaust particles:
1) Keep windows closed when construction is in process.
2) Use AC with proper venting to Re-circulate or Exhaust it to the outside, but Not to draw air in.
3) If there is dust in your apartment, don’t use a regular broom to sweep –vacuum, damp mop or damp cloths are better.
4) Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter if you can – which helps prevent the particles from re-emerging.
5) An air purifier with a HEPA filter may be helpful.
6) You may consider using a face mask, if your doctor agrees (sometimes it can worsen an underlying medical condition). Get one with at least an N95 respirator. It should also have a good seal and nose clip so the air is coming in through the filter and not from the sides of the mask. A fancy one might also have a valve to release the heat that builds up inside the mask when you breathe out. Inexpensive masks are available locally for about $1, or, with a nose clip for about $5.
NOISE can have indirect health effects as a result of interfering with sleep or one’s ability to concentrate or relax. (Direct effects like hearing loss are unlikely when noise is intermittent and not at close range.)
Precautions that can be taken:
1) Close windows.
2) Stay away (if you can) when the noise is loudest.
3) Use ear phones – also called ear muffs – which “close off sound” (These may be bought online – i.e. one tenant purchased a pair of headband style ear muffs for $41 from PE, Professional Equipment, phone # 1 800 334 9291, product #A 404-0777, which she found highly effective. Also see article in the NYTimes Business section, on 6/14/07, titled “How to Shut out the World” for more information.)
RODENTS. If you see an increased roach or rodent population, call 311, which has a rapid response program for such situations. They can advise you on control measures and/or recommend a good exterminator. Also, the health department has a booklet called “Integrated Pest Management” which you can request from 311.
If you have General medical concerns that you believe are related to the construction, you can call the health department (through 311).
The NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection, has two enforcement mechanisms, to minimize harm from construction: an air code and noise legislation. Important rules:
A. Fugitive dust should be controlled by:
1) Continuously watering down the site, local streets and the trucks (But this can make for mud problems.)
2) Covering the ground with gravel so the trucks do not keep kicking up dust.
3) Using sweepers (although these are only effective sometimes)
(This is all more difficult when it is dry and windy – i.e. particularly in the summer.)
B. Exhaust emissions should be controlled by:
1) Reducing idling.
2) The use of ultra low sulphur diesel by trucks hauling excavation materials (which Gotham Construction says all its vehicles use.)
C. Whenever possible a noise mitigation plan should be in place before construction
D. Construction hours are 7AM to 6 PM. (They may not begin earlier.)
COMPLAINTS If you have problems with your health or if you see construction violations, call 311. Give your name and address and contact information and explain the nature of the complaint. Be sure to get a case or work request number when calling 311 and find out which agency the complaint is being forwarded to.
Please send a record of your complaint to the Park West Village Tenants Association – PWVTA – so they can track and help with follow up. Send information about your complaints, including the complaint number to: 311@earthlink.net
Our elected officials– especially Daniel O’Donnell, State Assembly member, and Melissa Mark Viverito, City Council Member, and the community board PRYAN@CB7.ORG would also appreciate your sending a record of your complaint to them for follow up.
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REVIEW OF THE HEALTH FORUM
On Wednesday, June 20th, many of us attended a health forum on surviving massive construction. The forum was organized by a subcommittee of the Coalition to Preserve West Park North with representatives of the Park West Village Tenants Association, and was chaired by the extremely able Win Armstrong. Win and Paul Bunten (and perhaps others) took the city representatives on a tour of the building site to give them the real picture before the forum.
Lois Hoffmann, president of the Park West Village Tenants Association, welcomed everyone, and I described a little bit about the Coalition to Preserve West Park North, the task force formed by our elected officials (chaired by City Council Member Melissa Mark Viverito, with Borough President Stringer, Assembly Member Danny O'Donnell, State Senator Bill Perkins, and Dan Berger of Congressman Rangel's office), and the new task force formed by Community Board 7, in which we are participating.
The panelists included
- Dr. Nathan Graber of the City's Department of Health
- Gerry Kelpin of the City's Department of Environmental Protection
- Humberto Galarza of the City's Department of Environmental Protection
- Moe Aziz of Gotham Construction, and
- Val Norets, Stellar's construction manager for this area.
The panelists all spoke and then answered LOTS of questions from the floor.
CONSTRUCTION DUST & DIESEL EXHAUST
Dr. Graber noted that construction dust comes in big particles (you can see and feel them), and often irritate the mucous membranes (eyes, nose and throat) as well as the larger airways in the lungs. The particulates that form from diesel fuel exhaust from the many trucks are smaller and can really get deep into the lungs. Both dust and diesel particulates can worsen the symptoms of asthma or COPD (a chronic lung condition) as well as other lung conditions, and may cause temporary eye tearing, coughs, or sore throat.
There is no evidence, Dr. Graber reported, that the larger particles of construction dust can cause or exacerbate heart and circulation problems. (Much smaller particles might.)
He advised that residents keep their windows shut if they see dust, and use air conditioners with a good filter and set to exhaust or to recycle the air already in the apartment -- but not to draw in fresh air from outside during construction hours. AC filters should be washed regularly and changed annually. If there is a lot of dust IN the apartment, he suggested that some people may choose to buy HEPA filtered air cleaners. To pick up the dust, use a damp mop or a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA bag -- and don't use a dry broom, which is likely to put more dust into the air.
While face masks, rated N95 or higher (N100, for example) may be effective, they sometimes aggravate asthma and other lung conditions, so consult your physician before using one. Any face mask must have a clip to pinch over your nose to ensure a close seal: there's no point in wearing a mask unless all the air comes directly through it.
NOISE: Typical construction noise can make our lives miserable but probably won't damage our ears. Ann Wangh demonstrated some "ear muffs" (not made of cloth!). She found a pair on the internet for $41 that have no electronic parts but do muffle sound enough for her to sit on her balcony and read during the day.
RODENTS: They typically do not spread disease in New York City (but they can bite, I noted). The city takes them seriously, and will respond promptly if you call 311. The Board of Health can recommend "integrated" extermination companies.
Carmen Quinones of Frederick Douglass Houses noted that since the construction began, the rodent problem at FDH has become unbearable and dangerous, and that STELLAR management -- and not the individual tenants or even the New York City Housing Authority which manages the FDH -- should bear the cost of
- rodent control
- masks if required
- ear "muffs" if required.
PREVENT "FUGITIVE DUST" : Builders can spray the construction site with water every hour -- as opposed to just spraying trucks as they leave the site to prevent them from bringing mud and dust out with them.
The builders can also use gravel on the ramps to make trucks less likely to pick up dust and soil.
DIESEL FUMES & PARTICULATE: Trucks on constructions sites often use their engines as part of the job, spinning cement, turning cranes, etc. It's important that the trucks meet recent state standards. (Moe Aziz reports that all the trucks were new when they started the job, apparently implying that they meet the newer standards.)
If trucks are run by independent contractors and are stinking up the neighborhood and leaving long trails of cloud behind them, as Peter Arndtsen reported, we should note down the company names. The City's DEP does not have jurisdiction to enforce repairs or changes or even to ensure certain qualities of emissions, but can offer grants that will make this retrofitting affordable to these companies. Ms. Halpern pointed out that
NOISE ON THE BUILDING SITE: A new law goes into effect in July that requires lower noise levels for construction. This is more easily accomplished BEFORE demolition begins as opposed to half-way through it. So we can hope that the construction on the east side of Columbus will be quieter. (Val Nortel of Stellar reports that that will be supervised by Tishman, rather than by Gotham. But he had no information at all about noise abatement required by the new law.)
DUST or NOISE IN YOUR APARTMENT: DEP can come to your apartment to check the amount of dust and the loudness of the noise. (Call 311 to arrange an appointment if it is a concern.) However, it cannot analyze the air in your apartment to see if there are dangerous substances in it.
HISTORY OF FINES: DEP has fined Gotham 10 times for some 300 complaints that have been filed. Legally, fines range from $225 to $1500. DEP can not order the company to stop work while a problem is being fixed. (The Dept. of Buildings can.)
We do not know whether DEP can or would put permanent testing devices for noise or dust.
COMPLAIN: Call 311 if you see clouds of dust and if the noise becomes unusually loud. Then send the 311 work request number or complaint number that you are given, to call311@earthlink.net, and you may also send copies to Assembly Member Daniel O'Donnell and to City Council Member Melissa Mark Viverito.
They had no control over the hundreds and hundreds of trucks that were subcontracted to deliver things in the earlier part of construction, and that were routinely ticketed by the local 24th Police Precinct for idling for over 3 minutes. Presumably that problem has eased now that the only trucks coming in are under Gotham's control. [Note: Our elected officials have commented that Gotham is one of the most consistent recipients of violations, and that these violations are often repeated from one site to the next.]
They do put gravel down on the dirt ramps, but with so much truck traffic, the gravel is soon buried in dirt or carried away in the truck tires.
They do hose things down -- but according to local residents who have seen the site, they are only hosing the trucks as they leave the site rather than hosing down the entire site to keep down dust.
They will try to do better on the walkways, with turning trucks (who endanger pedestrians, particularly children on their way to school),
VAL NORETS of Stellar reported that construction on the east side of Columbus will begin shortly, with demolition continuing into the late fall. He did not provide informaiton on how long the construction will take altogether.
He and Moe stated that they are both participating in Community Board 7's construction committee and responding to complaints.
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The moral of the story: CALL 311, and then send the complaint or work requisition number to CALL311@earthlink.net
