"America's Mayor" in some deep, deep doo-doo...

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Ogie Oglethorpe


Commerical meaning warehouses that hold pool chemicals or the like. Given the inventory of haz materials in the twin towers I'ld guess what we are talking about are mostly normal combustion by products not the more nasty chlorinated and cyanide by products.

Not necessarily - a couple of years ago, there was a retail fire here with a lot of plastic goods and routine solvents (a toy store or something like that, next to a paint store), and it made a pretty good mess for several neighbors for a good long time - not permanent, but enough to screw their businesses hard. These weren't warehouses, but retail stores in a small shopping center.

With the twin towers, you have three factors - lots of av gas, high combustion terperature causing a more thorough burn of a lot of things that don't always burn thoroughly in a normal fire, and a huge amount of PM10 and smaller particulates, including micron and submicron concrete dust - which accumulated products of combustion in its surfaces and was ingested. In essence, coal miner's black lung with a few twists and variations on the theme.

[Arrian]

I recall there being concerns at the time (as in, September 12, 2001) about the site being hazardous. I was surprised that more care wasn't taken. I am unsurprised people have gotten sick.

-Arrian

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Concrete dust was a known and is in no way like black lung causing compounds such as anthracene and other aromatics. And while they may have absorbed soe byproducts of incomplete combustion it is highly unlikely they would be creosote like material as those are too high of a molecular weight. A problem with breathing perhaps for asmatics and those with limitted lung capacities but nowhere near as dangerous or carcinogenic as coal dust in the short or long term. Again I come from coal mining country.

As for plastics burning it depends. If you have a lot of PVC its a problem. If you have butylene, ethylene or polyporpylene it burns fairly clean.

[Berzerker]

According to the article the mayor's office opened the area up, and I assume a decision like that sits on Rudy's desk, not some staffer.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by DRoseDARs
Thank you Ming. I was pretty suprised that Sikander went at it like that but whatever, to each their own... until you say, "Chill."

And always nice to have MtG taking a similar position (though much more eloquently stated) to one's self.

First let me apologize to you DroseDARS for saying I thought you were an a$$hole. I don't really think that. But I didn't care for what I saw as glee in your OP. Horror and anger seemed a more appropriate response. You seemed to skip right over that to salivating for vengeance.

I'm not sure who is responsible for ignoring the warnings, or what the effects ultimately will be. But the lack of response / investigation for those who are suffering now from illnesses that may have been due to exposure is the current scandal.

[DRoseDARs]

And I apologize for not putting my feelings about this story in a better-worded fashion. Yes, I felt glee over it, but in the sense that those responsible might finally have to answer for what they had done to thousands of New Yorkers. That one of those possibly responsible happens to be a likely contender for the GOP's '08 run made the justice that much sweeter. One less "a$$hole" for the GOP to hoist upon us. Most importantly, these memos might finally trigger the proper investigations the victims deserve.

...but then again, Gulf War Syndrome victims are still being neglected, even denied, looong after the fact.

[Sikander]

The NYTimes has been covering the lack of response to these health complaints this week, and indeed it looks like every level of government would rather this just went away. They may finally be shamed into at least looking into it, but it's not a sure thing.