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