September 11 public health conference agenda, Feb 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Session- 1) What was the environinental & occupational health impacts? 2) Impact on different worlters at Ground Zero and nearby? 3) How accurate was the assessment? 4) How effective was the communication? 5) How was the medical effectiveness? (not too sure of tills point) 6) How effective was the regulatory framework? 7) What arc the ongoing needs? 8) v6iat lessons have been learned to date? 9) How should we address emergencies in the future - what policies, progn ms, research studies, etc. are needed?

Occupational Health: Steven Markowitz, Queens CoUege Occupational Medical Physical area.

Said there was no systematic understanding of the health impact Do not have enough information about the health of people near Ground Zero even though lO’s of lOGO’s of samples were taken between 10/01 and 11/01. There was a moblJ - medical unit at Barclay & Broadway -provided by NICOSH, the Latin American Worker.* Project He examined tile asbestos laborers who didn’t speak English, had tenuous relationships with their employers, had no respirators, mops, rags, & bags. There were no Inspectors present - a high degree of hazard. Got funding from FEMA (?) conducted screenings; saw clean-up workers from about 100 bldgs. RESULTS: a reservoir of people who were not getting attention. Also saw asbestos workers from Local 78 - saw 415 workers through 1/14; gave them free respirators. Mobile van dosed at the end of February. Found problems with sinusitis, upper airway irritation, chest dysfunction, breathing tests were normal, by and large, insomnia, headaches, dizziness. With clean-up employees, when no one is looking, one doesn’t err on the side of caution — tiiey need advice and direction.

Jeffrey Grabelsky, Dir. Of Cornel) Univ. Schoo) of Labor Relations * Response of the Building Trades (AFL/CEO) to the WTC disaster: He’s a licensed electrician not a health and safety person; worlced witii the Central Labor Counefl.

Said lOOO’s of union trade workers rushed south to help with the rescue and recovery; dispatched construction safety teams. Worked wZo supervision or direction. About 1 million tons of steel and debris were moved in these 6 months. OSHA’s work was very impressive. Also talked about the Union consciousness and culture of the workers ... history of cooperative tradition. Talked about a safety training program for site work; having a construction safety coordinator on site; train workers in confined ^"ace procedures; rebuild ad run the city as a more Union town.

David Newman, Industrial Hygienist - New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health (NICOSH)

Analysis of Recovery Operations:

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