Section 24-146. Preventing particulate matter from becoming air-borne; spraying of asbestos prohibited; spraying of insulating material and demolition regulated

(a)  No person shall cause or permit particulate  matter  to  be  handled,  transported  or  stored  without  taking  such
  precautions as may be ordered by the commissioner to prevent particulate
  matter from becoming air-borne.
    (b) Six months after August twentieth, nineteen hundred seventy-one no
  person  shall  cause  or permit the spraying of any substance containing
  asbestos  in  or  upon  a  building  or  other  structure   during   its
  construction,  alteration  or  repair, except if permitted by a variance
  granted pursuant to subdivision (e) of section 24-110 of this chapter.
    (c) No person shall cause or permit a building or its appurtenances or
  a road to be  constructed,  altered  or  repaired  without  taking  such
  precautions as may be ordered by the commissioner to prevent particulate
  matter from becoming air-borne.
    (d)  No  person  shall  cause  or  permit untreated open areas located
  within the boundaries of a zoning lot as defined by section 12-10 of the
  zoning resolution of the city of  New  York  to  be  maintained  without
  taking   reasonable  precautions  to  prevent  particulate  matter  from
  becoming air-borne.
    (e) No person shall cause or permit the  spraying  of  any  insulating
  material,  not  otherwise  prohibited  by  this  section, in or upon any
  building or other  structure  during  its  construction,  alteration  or
  repair, unless he or she complies with the following precautions:
    (1)  Before the start of spraying operations, all floor areas shall be
  shoveled clean. Before the application of insulating material commences,
  the floor of the areas shall be cleared of  all  objects,  material  and
  equipment  other than that employed in the application of the insulating
  material, or all objects, material, and equipment shall be covered  with
  plastic  or  other  approved  tarpaulins  in a manner that precludes the
  subsequent dispersal of particulate matter.
    (2) The entire floor, or the part of the floor to be insulated,  shall
  be  enclosed with plastic or other approved tarpaulins in a manner which
  shall preclude the escape of particulate matter from the enclosure.  All
  interior  open  areas,  such  as elevator shafts and stairwells shall be
  enclosed in a manner which  shall  prevent  the  escape  of  particulate
  matter  from the working area. Stack effect of the shafts and stairwells
  shall be considered in providing proper enclosures. An enclosure will be
  considered satisfactory  only  if  visible  insulating  material  cannot
  escape from the enclosure.
    (3)  Wet  insulating  material  which has fallen to the floor shall be
  swept up to prevent dispersal of  dried  material.  Under  no  condition
  shall this material be removed later than at the end of the working day.
  Swept-up  material  shall be placed in a heavy plastic bag strong enough
  to resist tearing or  breaking  under  normal  handling  conditions  and
  clearly  marked as containing insulating material waste. The contents of
  the aforementioned plastic bags shall  not  be  transferred  to  another
  container.  The plastic bags shall be placed upon a vehicle for disposal
  at a site approved by the commissioner.
    (4) All floors shall be vacuumed shortly after drying. The contents of
  the vacuum bag shall be carefully placed in  a  container  of  the  type
  described in paragraph three of this subdivision and shall thereafter be
  placed  on  a vehicle for removal and disposal at a site approved by the
  commissioner.
    (5) The materials used to  form  the  enclosure  shall  be  thoroughly
  vacuumed  upon  completion  of  the application of the insulation in the
  area. The entire floor area and ledges and surfaces including tarpaulins

  upon which waste insulation material may  have  fallen,  shall  then  be
  vacuumed or revacuumed before removal of the enclosures.
    (6)  Enclosures  shall  not  be  dismantled  until  the  area has been
  thoroughly vacuumed after completion of spraying and clean-up.
    (7) All areas used for opening  bags  containing  insulating  material
  and/or  changing  of  hoppers  shall  be  enclosed in such a manner that
  insulating material shall not be permitted to escape from the  immediate
  area in which such activity takes place.
    (8)  Signs  shall  be posted outside enclosures warning persons of the
  hazards of entering the enclosure without appropriate apparel.
    (9) All persons involved in the spraying of insulating material at the
  site must be furnished with suitable coveralls which must be left at the
  site. No person shall be permitted in  an  area  in  which  spraying  or
  handling  of  insulating  material  has  taken  place  until  the  final
  vacuuming referred to in paragraph five of  this  subdivision  has  been
  accomplished, unless such person is furnished with or wears coveralls of
  the  type  described herein. Facilities shall be provided and procedures
  instituted and supervised that preclude the  removal  and  dispersal  of
  insulating  material from the construction site on the clothing or other
  appurtenances of persons leaving the area.
    (10) Any plenum or other structures coated  with  insulating  material
  which are intended for use in circulation of air in the building must be
  thoroughly cleaned of all debris, dust and waste insulation. All applied
  insulation  material  within  a  plenum  or  duct  must be coated with a
  sealant approved by the commissioner which  precludes  exposure  of  the
  material to the circulating air whenever the commissioner after ordering
  tests  to  be  conducted  by the manufacturer in accordance with section
  24-107, determines that the insulation material needs such a sealant.
    (11) A person shall  be  assigned  the  full  time  responsibility  of
  supervising  the  spraying  and  related  operations  to  assure that no
  insulating material is released from the construction site.
    (12) In case of emission of insulation material from the  construction
  site,  immediate  steps  shall  be  taken to cause the cessation of such
  emissions by either effective control measures or work stoppage  at  the
  source  of  the  emissions.  There  shall then be immediate and complete
  clean-up of all material that  has  escaped  the  construction  site  by
  measures  that  will  insure that no further dispersal of any insulating
  material into the atmosphere can occur.
    (f) No person shall cause or permit a building or other  structure  to
  be  demolished,  except  pursuant  to  chapter one of title seventeen or
  article eight of subchapter three of chapter one of title twenty-six  of
  the code, unless he or she complies with the following precautions:
    (1)  Demolition  by  toppling  of  walls  shall  not occur except when
  approved by the commissioner.
    (2) Before the demolition of any section  of  wall,  floor,  roof,  or
  other  structure,  adequate  wetting procedures to lay the dust shall be
  employed. All debris shall be thoroughly wetted before loading and while
  dumping into trucks, other vehicles or containers. In all cases  and  at
  all  stages  of  demolition, wetting procedures shall be adequate to lay
  the dust. Trucks shall be adequately covered or enclosed to prevent dust
  dispersion while in transit to point of disposal.
    (3) No structural members shall be dropped or thrown  from  any  floor
  but shall be carefully lowered to ground level by hoists.
    (4)  Effective  January  first,  nineteen  hundred seventy-two, debris
  shall not be dropped or thrown from any floor to  any  floor  below.  In
  buildings   twelve   stories  or  greater  in  height  debris  shall  be
  transported from the upper floors via enclosed, dust-tight chutes or via
  buckets. Where chutes are used, a water soaking spray shall be  employed

  to saturate the debris before it reaches the point of discharge from the
  chute.  Where buckets are used, the debris shall be adequately wetted to
  preclude dust dispersion when buckets are dumped.
    (5)  Effective  January  first,  nineteen  hundred seventy-two, in the
  event particulate matter becomes airborne for  a  continuous  period  of
  fifteen  minutes,  despite  the  application of the above procedures, or
  because freezing temperatures preclude the use of water for  laying  the
  demolition  dust, the work of demolition shall cease at once until other
  adequate measures can be taken. Alternate procedures shall be  evaluated
  by the commissioner before initiation thereof.