Too Few Masks At Site?
Union: WTC Asthma Study Faults Victims

By ARI PAUL

Emergency Medical Service union President Patrick J. Bahnken said it was no surprise that 9/11 recovery workers suffered high rates of asthma, according to a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene study released Aug. 27.

PATRICK J. BAHNKEN: Study misdiagnoses cause.

"Adequate respiratory protection was simply not available," Mr. Bahnken, whose Local 2507 of District Council 37 represents EMS workers below the rank of Lieutenant, said regarding conditions at Ground Zero in the months following the World Trade Center attacks. "The report makes it seem like people chose not to wear adequate protection. It's a disservice. It really calls into question the people who offer such a study."

Masks Lowered Risks

The report found that recovery workers who wore masks on Sept. 11 and 12, 2001 had lower rates of "newly-diagnosed asthma'' - 4 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively - than the 6.3 and 4.5 percent recorded among those who did not wear masks on those days. It concluded that the longer workers went without respirators or masks, the greater their risk of acquiring asthma. It also said that 3.6 percent of the 25,000 9/11 first responders and recovery workers enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry developed asthma at a rate "12 times what would be normally expected for the adult population during such a time period," the department said.

Dr. THOMAS R. FRIEDEN: Equipment essential.

"These findings reflect the critical importance of getting appropriate respiratory protection to all workers as quickly as possible during a disaster, and making every effort to make sure workers wear them at all times," Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden said in a statement. "The events of 9/11 were unprecedented, and with the urgency of rescue operations and the difficulty of prolonged physical exertion with most types of respirators, there are no easy answers, even in retrospect."

Finds Fault With City

Mr. Bahnken believed that although the study focused attention on the plight of recovery workers suffering respiratory illnesses, it never explained why workers did not wear masks. The primary reason, he said, was that masks were simply not made available.

"There was no adequate fit-testing of masks when they finally did become available," he said.

Kimberly Flynn, coordinator of the 9/11 Environmental Action Group, agreed with Mr. Bahnken.

"The city avoided asking the question that may have possibly incriminated the city, and that's not a way to pursue public health information," she said.

Ms. Flynn also noted that a substantial amount of time has passed since the department collected data for the study.

"The rates that they found might be higher at this point," she said.

Toxins in Vicinity

Recovery workers at the World Trade Center were exposed to toxins such as benzene, asbestos and copper dust.

U.S. Rep Jerrold Nadler saw the report as a step in the right direction.

"If any good is to come from this tragedy, the government must ensure that a plan is in place to properly protect the public health in the event of a similar catastrophe," Congressman Nadler said in a statement. "The government must provide absolutely truthful environmental risk communications, and it must not give workplace safety regulations short shrift."