 From demonstrating for air quality protection outside the ACS headquarters (Oct. 2001 rally) to completing WTC Disaster Report Forms, the DC 37 campaign for health protections continues. |
Emergency workers and volunteers showed incredible
bravery and small regard for their personal safety as they battled
fire and time to search the rubble of the fallen towers for survivors.
But within days, workers on the pile and lower Manhattan residents
were asking what they were breathing and whether the dust cloud
of 9/11 contained asbestos or other killer substances.
Local 1320 President James Tucciarelli brought respirators from
DEP's supplies to workers at the disaster site as agency-by-agency
the union pressed for protective gear.
As city offices nearby reopened, union safety staff demanded air
tests and offered guidelines to protect workers. When one agency
barred union safety experts from a building, members protested in
the street as local leaders held a news conference.
In February, hundreds of DC 37 members filled out the WTC Disaster
Incident Report Form published in PEP to document their exposures
and to provide information about symptoms. Motor Vehicle Operators,
Urban Park Rangers, Engineers, 911 Technicians, School Aides and
others detailed their physical and psychological reactions. The
form was part of a multi-pronged campaign developed by DC 37's Safety
and Health Dept. to address health issues related to 9/11 and its
aftermath.
Safety Director Lee Clarke spearheaded an effort to bring together
a multi-union task force that pressed the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health to investigate the area. Now, two
NIOSH reports have documented persistent physical and psychological
symptoms since Sept. 11. Results of both reports are consistent
with the symptoms reported by members of DC 37 in their Disaster
Incident Reports.
DC 37 worked with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to win federal funds
to establish a WTC Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program
at the renowned Mt. Sinai Center for Occupational and Environmental
Medicine. DC 37 members who worked or volunteered at the WTC or
the Staten Island landfill after 9/11 are urged to apply for these
examinations (see 'Free
Medical Screening at Mt. Sinai').
Civil Service Technical Guild Local 375 President Claude Fort met
with members after some outside testing revealed raised levels of
toxic substances such as mercury and arsenic in their blood. Mt.
Sinai will be screening such members and providing referrals for
follow-up medical care if required.
Currently, the DC 37 Safety and Health Dept. is working to expand
the Environmental Protection Agency's cleanup and testing efforts
in lower Manhattan beyond residences. "There is no logical
reason to exclude the workplaces where so many union members spend
hours every day," said Ms. Clarke. The New York Committee on
Occupational Safety and Health is working with DC 37 to accomplish
this objective.
Speaking about the public health impact of Sept. 11, David Newman
of NYCOSH, recently addressed a number of health concerns. Chief
among these is the refusal of government agencies to enforce existing
public and occupational health laws in the disaster area. Unions
and groups like NYCOSH are working to ensure that these protections
are not violated.
— Jane LaTour