Question by MAREK_CZECH: Why didn’t workers at Ground Zero use proper respiratory protection in the days after 9/11?
I remember seeing video of workers with nothing more than paper facemasks working at the Ground Zero site, and wondering “Holy crap, what are those people DOING???”
I would NEVER have stepped anywhere NEAR that site without proper respiratory protection. In the days immediately following the collapse (which stirred up TONS of asbestos and ash and toxic smoke), proper protection would have involved a comprehensive self-contained breathing system such as a SCUBA tank setup.
At the LEAST, you’d want a high-grade biohazard-suitable respiratory mask. That’s just basic common sense.
However, workers did not follow these simple precautions, and now many of them have serious lung problems or cancer. Some have already died.
Why? Whose fault is this? Who set the worksite safety policies immediately following the collapse?
The thing is, nobody was actually saved from the collapsed buildings. Everyone, unfortunately, had already died. The only people “rescued” were rescuers who had later become trapped by accident.
Best answer:
Answer by Seiko .
At that point in time they were far more concerned with others, not themselves.
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