News report on health testing program for WTC workers, 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

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Despite such reports, federal and city agencies is­ sued only one citation for improper cleaning. Respi­ rators, and other safety gear and procedures, are re­ quired under federal regulations governing work with asbestos-containing material; asbestos Workers examined abatement can cost three to four times more than a Between Jan. 14 and Feb. 25, the Queens College stiiidard cleaning job. medical team examined 410 immigrant workers '•He federal Occupational Safety and Health Ad- from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and the Dominican mi.ii&rMion, which is charged with ensuring worker Republic. Its findings are expected in June. saJe'^ selected 34 buildings around the trade center Nearly all were suffering from two groups of s#£e in January for random inspection after receiving symptoms: a combination of upper airway irritation, complaints about dangerous work conditions. coughing, sore throat, chest discomfort and nasal The first inspections did not occur until up to 10 congestion; and a cluster consisting of headaches, in­ weeks after many day laborers stopped working — somnia. poor appetite and dizziness, Markowitz said. and as late as last month about a half-dozen buildings Perhaps one or two of every thousand workers who had yet to be inspected. cleaned buildings without proper protection could OSHA gave employers advance notice of the in­ develop mesothelioma, a rare cancer affecting the spections, which officials said is standard practice. sac lining of the chest or abdomen, said Levin, of the No asbestos violations were found. Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Under city regulations, New York’s Department of Levin said he based his estimate on construction Environmental Protection is required to ensure that workers such as plumbers and electricians, whose asbestos workers, their clothing and equipment are mesothelioma rates have generally run below 1 in decontaminated so asbestos fibers do not escape 1,000. from work sites. Cancers linked to asbestos almost certainly would Union officials repeatedly told the department that not appear for decades. That workers had symptoms non-union laborers weren’t using proper gear or pro­ weeks after they stopped working indicates health cedures, said Sal Speziale, president of Laborers problems beyond simple irritation from inhaling the Local 78, which represents 3,200 hazardous-materials dust, Markowitz said. workers. High concentrations of pulverized glass or fiber­ Speziale claims that inspectors did little to crack glass certainly could have harmed workers’ respira­ down on violations. tory systems, Markowitz said. Alkaline dust dissolv­ “It seemed like they didn’t do nothing to rectify the ing in the water and mucus of the airways also could situation,” he said. have been caustic enough to cause damage, he said. Thirty-seven asbestos projects were registered “I’m at a loss, really, to explain why people had with the department in lower Manhattan after Sept those symptoms,” Markowitz said. 11, and it received more than 170 asbestos-related “I say the dust was toxic because we have human complaintsjCharles Sturcken, the department’s chief proof.” of staff, said inspectors found only one violation — a failure to properly register a project that was other­ wise safely carried out. “If there’s a complaint about asbestos, we’ll look into it,” Sturcken said. “If we don’t catch them, we • don’t catch them. That’s unfortunate.”

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