Bank building demolition set.

Standing like a black tombstone over the WTC site, the former Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty Street will soon be a memory.

Scheduled to begin dismantlement before the end of the year, the building, which was damaged on 9/ 11, will be cleared to make way for the fifth tower in the new World Trade Center site plan, as well as provide more open space for a WTC memorial.

The trick now is to bring the structure down without unleashing a plethora of toxins, a deconstruction process that the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC)--which purchased the building from Deutsche Bank on August 31--is still hashing out.

An initial characterization study conducted by engineering and environmental firm the Louis Berger Group found asbestos, dioxin, lead, quartz, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pulverized glass in dust samples taken from inside the building, health-damaging substances that elucidate the need for careful cleanup procedures.

According to LMDC spokesperson Joanna Rose, the LMDC, working with project regulators the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), is currently drafting a deconstruction plan.

"We don't like to use the word demolition," Rose said. "This is going to be a measured and careful process where all the toxins inside that building are properly contained and disposed of."

Contracted by the LMDC, Gilbane Construction will dismantle the building piece by piece once a plan is in place.

"The start of the deconstruction depends on how quickly we get approval and meet all the requirements," Rose said. "But we should begin in the fall."

Along with the Louis Berger Group, TRC Environmental Consulting will monitor air quality around the entire site during the deconstruction process.

As the deconstruction plan is being crafted, the LMDC has designated a period of public comment until October 13 so that resident's concerns can be addressed in the final plan.

"We will do our best to address everyone's concerns and fears regarding the removal of this building," Rose said.

While a 15-story gash was carved out of the tower's facade by falling debris on 9/11, it was the torrents of poisonous dust, created and dispersed by the WTC's collapse that contaminated the structure and made it impossible for Deutsche Bank to reoccupy the space. Deutsche Bank's attempts to collect demolishment and reconstruction costs were stymied when the building's insurers French insurance company AXA SA (AXA) and German insurance company Allianz AG, insisted the building could again be occupied after it was cleaned and repaired.

Appointed by Governor Pataki, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell mediated an end to a protracted court battle between the parties. Under his settlement the insurers paid Deutsche Bank $140 M,

The LMDC purchased the building and land for $90 million and will pay up to $45 million for its deconstruction, with any costs exceeding the $45 million cap to be covered by the insurers.