Posted on 03/14/2006 11:12:58 AM PST by Calpernia
I only went in for 2 days. Not much happened until a week in. Thanks though.
Hi Alice, FR was down all day.
I remember threads here about emails, Hillary Clinton and the EPA. There was something up with that whole situation but I don't remember what it was.
I was new to FR then and I didn't know about bookmarking.
I think it smoldered until 12/2001 Old Friend.
There was an initial article I wanted to post this morning; but FR was down. That article disappeared around 11:00am.
The people that are showing symptoms now are dying. They will die.
Their concerns are their families being taken care of.
There was more in that article, I wish I copied it.
I think one of the issues is, not everyone that went during the first 2 weeks were first responders under the technical definition.
A bus came. No one talks about those buses, very strange.
Anyone that had any background at all in medical, retired MIL, police, fire, there was no screening, just got on and went.
There was no sign in. There is no proof that people were there.
It was about 2 weeks in that the recovery/rescue got organized and started restricting access to organized groups.
So I'm a freaking idiot.
I was there. It was impossible not to know the air was contaminated. It smelled like a bunson burner for months down there and I was amazed guys were refusing to wear their masks. Just a few minutes left your throat stripped and dry...
In those early days at Ground Zero, rescue workers were focused on finding survivors, regardless of personal risks involved. Even though time would later prove that no more survivors were to be found, the hope and faith of the rescue teams did not waver. Risking a life to save a life is a unique attribute of human behavior. Although admirable under these circumstances, this attitude created serious safety and health concerns.
Risk-taking was the norm—not the exception—at Ground Zero. As SH&E professionals, it was difficult to watch these activities. Under normal circumstances, doing nothing to stop risk-taking equates to condoning and accepting the risk, which is contrary to how SH&E professionals are trained to conduct their craft. But work at the site was anything but “normal.” The group quickly learned that trying to control human behavior under such extreme conditions was not possible. In the simplest terms, during those early days, we were forced to accept such risk-taking behavior—not an easy task for any team member.
Since no clear lines of authority had yet been established with regard to the team’s specific responsibilities, it was initially difficult to enforce even the simplest of SH&E principles at the site. As long as work at the WTC was considered “search and rescue” by the mayor’s office, it fell under the jurisdiction of the Fire Dept. of New York (FDNY) and the FDNY incident commander. As a public agency, FDNY took little direction from a private contractor.
Telling a firefighter, a police officer or any other worker at Ground Zero not to take risks during the first few weeks was simply not realistic. On one occasion, a senior commander told a safety representative from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that the first person to mention safety issues would literally be thrown off “his” site. He felt he had no time to worry about such things when there could still be survivors.
I'm 25 miles away in NJ. We were able to smell it out here too for months. We even had a foggy haze in the morning.
right that's what I meant, THEY REFUSED TO WEAR THEIR PROPER EQUIPMENT. THEY WERE "NOT" BEING PROFESSIONAL. They shouldn't sue. And the blame goes to that idiot EPA Commissioner former NJ Gov. Whitless who stated the area was clean.
It was impossible not to know the air was contaminated. >>
It was? how so?
What was the solution?
Did you want massive evacuations?
The smell. I will forever have nightmares about that smell.
You don't need a meter to tell you something isn't right.
It was like inhaling fiber glass ridden dirt and burnt flesh.
They should be taken care of.
They're all heroes.
I was there for two days as well. I was part of a Marine det that went up there to help. Who were you with?
I wasn't really with anyone. When the buses came, various people from our neighborhood got on. I went up two days, realized I wasn't of much use. I went and gave blood after that and switched off with my girlfriend watching everyone's children and animals that continued to go.
As time passes, I guess some forget the incredible emotions and sense of duty and patriotism that occurred after 9/11. Those EMS/FIRE/LEO and civilian workers who worked long, heart breaking hours in NYC or in DC in the aftermath, should be given a pass in my book.
Yes a fair number of scammers will benefit, but that is better than allowing even one person who paid the price by sacrificing their health to slip through the cracks. To those who "knew" the dangers of that environment continued to work for god and country without access to proper equipment, they are greater heroes than those who did not "know" the risks IMO.
I pity the person or agency, if any, that misled the workers to foolishly believe that working in that toxic whirlwind was in any way safe, because if God is just there will be a special place in Hell for them.
Yep, this is an emotional response to a problem that might best be handled by bean counters, but 9/11 was a unique time in the history of this great country and I believe the response is just and proper. What do we teach or kids if we don't take care of our these special people that most call heroes?
delete the "our" in the last sentence...doh!!!
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