Ground Zero hero, 34, dies [Black Lung, mercury on brain]

Newsday ^ | 1/8/06 | Lindsay Faber

[Palladin]

What an awful thing to happen to a hero.

How many more will go this way?

The people who left the city and didn't return for several months were right. The air was too toxic to breathe.

[Palladin]

Thermometers, barometers, dental fillings in the people in the WTC who were incinerated...

[Fawn]

And you always have one handy I assume then?

I"m not a trained rescue person...but as a matter of fact--I have a mask at work in my drawer since the hurricanes caused mildew in our bldg.

[cgk]

Prayers...


Oh, I was hoping against hope there would not be another wave of casualties from 9/11. Prayers for all the volunteers who dedicated so much to trying to bring our American brothers and sisters home to their families... Prayers for their families as well. I am forever grateful to them for work.

[Calpernia]

Glad to hear you have one in your drawer.

[Calpernia]

We smelt it well into December in NJ too.

[Rte66]

Thanks for posting this. I saw it a couple of days ago and thought about starting a thread on it, but hoped someone else would. It's important. Prayers for the family, such a tragedy all around. Now I'll read the thread.

[Palladin]

It reminds me of the TMI accident in Pennsylvania. There were health problems for 25 years following that. And the Gov said no problems with the air or water.

[Calpernia]

'Nothing to see here, move along' :P

[beaver fever]

"One has to wonder why he wasn't wearing the proper protective gear. A good respirator, one that filters out both particulates and vapors, would probably have protected him."

Yeah they cost $25 at the local paint store.

I wore one everyday for years. Had to lend it to a guy one day because he was going to scrub a chimney with muriatic acid without a resperator!

Rule one: always wear a respirator on a demolition site even in the open air.

[wtc911]

I'm on the list of folks they're watching...so far - so good.

[Calpernia]

Another prayer for health will never hurt.

[The Foolkiller]

The EPA came out right after 911 and told everyone that the air quality was not going to hurt anyone. I will never forget that!

---

Yeah, I remember it well too. Can't smoke anywhere in N.Y; but this crap was PERFECTLY safe, according to the health department and all politicos (the same people who banned smoking).

[wtc911]

Gracias muchas.

[Strzelec]

Early in the disaster, probably because it wasn't immediately available for all personnel, and the need for search and rescue was thought to trump personal safety. If he didn't wear it during the following weeks, it was because his organization didn't ensure he was properly equipped, and, most importantly, using that equipment properly. Not meaning to cast stones - 9/11 was far beyond anyone's experience level at the time - but there are lessons to be learned so we can do better next time.

Some groups, notably the Consolidated Edison electric and gas workers, did a much better job of protecting themselves from the start (although in all fairness the ConEd responders were fewer in number and were not first responders performing SAR). A big part of this was that the company insisted that the workers protect themselves (through training, controlled site access, on-site safety inspections and mandatory decontamination). At times it's really tough to get workers to use their PPE - getting them to wear hardhats at all time in normal conditions is difficult enough, let alone restrictive equipment like respirators and special protective clothing in conditions like that after 9/11.

[SheLion]

Yeah, I remember it well too. Can't smoke anywhere in N.Y; but this crap was PERFECTLY safe, according to the health department and all politicos (the same people who banned smoking).

That's why so many of the workers didn't feel they needed masks. 

I thought then that if that horrendous cloud of smoke and debris wasn't harmful to people, then how can NYC Mayor and the Board of Health have the nerve to say that second hand smoke was killing people!  I will never forget this! :(

[Calpernia]

Bumping that. And the initial emergency responders weren't equipped either. The focus was SAR. After the first week (or 2?), everything got more organized.

[Calpernia]

It was more than a cloud. It was the most horrid smell I've ever experienced. I still freak out when I get that memory smell in my head. Wet, burnt, dusty burnt human flesh. Mixed with an odd gas. And you couldn't get away from it.

[Eagle Eye]

A friend of mine works for a nationally known insurance carrier who sponsored him and others to oversee health and safety at Ground Zero.

Compliance really wasn't even considered...they just did the best they could to to help the rescuers not do something stupid and kill themselves or others.

Respirators were available but not widely used for the reasons you described.

I made a visit to The Hole about October 2002 and it was still the saddest place I've ever been.

[SheLion]

It was more than a cloud. It was the most horrid smell I've ever experienced.

I said it was " the most  horrendous cloud of smoke and debris".

I didn't want to elaborate on it very much, but I didn't smell it or feel it but I experienced it day after day on the TV.  I know that it was suffocating.