The importance placed on maintaining environmental standards at the Ground Zero site includes protections for the Hudson River and the East River, which are only 600 and 3,000 ft. away from the 16 block site. New York Concrete Washout Systems' containment system is being used on the site to capture toxic washout for proper disposal in order to provide further measures to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act and in keeping with the spirit of green building taking place.
Capturing washout and keeping it from waterways is critical to human health and protecting wildlife. Concrete or cementitious (mortar, grout, plaster, stucco, cement, slurry) wastewater is caustic and considered to be corrosive with a pH over 12, essentially the same as Liquid Drano, Ammonia or other household cleaning detergents. The primary ingredient in ready mixed concrete is Portland Cement, which consists of Portland Cement Clinker, Calcium Sulfate, Calcium and Magnesium Oxide, heavy metals and potassium and sodium sulfate compounds, chromium compounds and nickel compounds.
Some of the contaminants contained within concrete washwater include; Aluminum, Barium, Chromium, Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium 6), Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Nickel, Potassium, Selenium, Sodium, Vanadium, and Zinc.
One WTC (Freedom Tower) captures both the patriotic spirit of its name and environmental spirit of green building. One WTC's height is 1,776 ft. and it will tower 102 stories. It also reaches for the highest level of green building in its design, which includes a number of sustainable elements built in to its features.

The sustainable elements built in to the design have created a world class structure befitting a city that never sleeps. The green aspects include the best sustainable technologies available, including recycled construction materials, interior day lighting, energy-efficient windows, state of the art HVAC, and other management systems. One World Trade Center's memorable combination of ultra-modern design and super-sustainable efficiency make it a centerpiece for not only the Financial District, Lower Manhattan, and New York, but also reflect the immutable American spirit of the US.Knickerbocker Plaza, 1751 Second Avenue - Manhattan, NY Tags: