From: "Janice Comer Bradley" (jbradley@safetyequipment.org)
To: audsvcs@cbs.com, Nightly@NBC.com, 2020@abc.com, "Peter Benjamin" (pete@peterbenjamin.com)
Cc: "Immune Mailing List" (immune@immuneweb.org)
Subject: [IMMUNE] Re: Rush: Respirators for rescue workers
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 10:21:32 -0400
The movement of protective equipment to the Pentagon and NYC is ongoing and has been since last Tuesday. The problem is that there is no coordinated authority for maintaing the PPE that they have as well an cleaning it and replacing respirators with new filters etc. The NYC fire dept, police dept, dept of Public Health, FEMA ets. are all purchasing safety equipment separately with no central means of maintaining an inventory of what is actually available to share among all rescue workers.
As they move into the phase of handling decaying bodies, they will need full body protective suits that are limited use and do not require decontamination.
Statement: The terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon have created an urgent need for protective equipment for workers engaged in disaster recovery efforts.
The respiratory protection that search and rescue workers need are 1/2 mask respirators with N-R-or P series filters with an efficiency rating of 95 or greater. This is the filter portion of the respirator and does nothing for gases or smells from the decaying bodies. They also need an organic vapor/acid gas canister which absorbs odors and harmful gases.
Sanitation of respirators is necessary to ensure that the air is clean within the mouthpiece. In addition, any workers that are welding or cutting metal beams etc. need welding face shields and welding goggles and shields.
Here is the list of PPE needs .
We are trying to coordinate the PPE industry with the needs being communicated in NYC and at the Pentagon. The assumption is that all goods are for sale only as most members have given away all that they could last week.
All PPE manufacturers have contact information listed in the ISEA Buyers Guide which can be found on our website.
----- Original Message -----
From: Peter Benjamin (pete@peterbenjamin.com)
To: (jbradley@safetyequipment.org); (audsvcs@cbs.com); (Nightly@NBC.com); (2020@abc.com)
Cc: Immune Mailing List (immune@immuneweb.org)
Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2001 9:36 PM
Subject: Rush: Respirators for rescue workersDear Janice Bradley,
I see at your web site http://www.safetycentral.org/isea/index.html the wording
Disaster relief and recovery workers face serious hazards in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in New York and Arlington. ISEA and its member companies are responding to calls for protective equipment for these workers, in coordination with NIOSH, FEMA and the Arlington County Fire Department. The immediate need is for respirators and protective apparel. ISEA technical director mailto:jbradley@safetyequipment.org Janice Bradley is the point of contact.
So I am writing you to ask why I continue to see newscasts of workers without protective equipment still? How goes the gathering and shipping of equipment to New York?
I've cc'ed ABC, CBS, and NBC on this email.
Do you think if these 3 big TV networks contacted the respirator manufacturers to empty their warehouses and agreed to PR on nightly news for the next month those companies that donated equipment, that would speed things up, and save the health of the New York workers?
I see the military at the Pentagon in full suits!!!
I've cc'ed the Immune mailing list, some 400+ people concerned about the short and long term health of this Americans. We are ready to individually email respirator manufacturers listed at http://www.lni.wa.gov/wisha/p-ts/respiratoryprotection/resp-man.htm to ask them why they have not donated and arranged with national TV newscasters to state the protective gear was donated by ___ and ____ and ____, some All American companies with The Spirit.
Sincerely,
Peter Benjamin
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 09:36:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Cyndi Norman (cnorman@best.com)
To: jbradley@safetyequipment.org
CC: audsvcs@cbs.com, Nightly@nbc.com, 2020@abc.com, pete@peterbenjamin.com,
immune@immuneweb.org
In-reply-to: <014d01c13f84$0f92dac0$72bb09d1@safetyequipment.org> (jbradley@safetyequipment.org)
Subject: Re: [IMMUNE] Re: Rush: Respirators for rescue workers
Dear Ms. Bradley:
From: "Janice Comer Bradley" (jbradley@safetyequipment.org)
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 10:21:32 -0400The movement of protective equipment to the Pentagon and NYC is ongoing and has been since last Tuesday. The problem is that there is no coordinated authority for maintaing the PPE that they have as well an cleaning it and replacing respirators with new filters etc. The NYC fire dept, police dept, dept of Public Health, FEMA ets. are all purchasing safety equipment separately with no central means of maintaining an inventory of what is actually available to share among all rescue workers.
Thank you so much for this very important work. I am so glad to see that your recommendations are for appropriate safety gear. Because of what has been available, it has been hard to tell if New York rescue workers and others on the scene were unprotected because of poor recommendations or lack of equipment.
I understand there is a problem with getting the workers to wear the equipment issued to them. Of course there is no such problem at the Pentagon site where workers have the right equipment and are using it.
I see news photos and television footage of New York workers with their respirators hanging around their necks, even while they are in a bucket brigade or otherwise directly working in dusty and smoky conditions. I have seen pictures of firefighters in adequate protective gear, except for the paper or poorly fitting cloth masks half on their faces.
On Sept 15 a volunteer at the Javits Convention Center, who was coordinating respirator protection for rescue workers, phoned me for information. I urged him to do whatever possible to get workers to wear the equipment given them. He said a lot of them get hot and sweaty under the masks and that is why they remove them. They don't know that they need to replace filters when their breathing is labored and to take breaks in clean air.
I have also heard stories of people going to the fire departments urging WTC workers to use better lung protection. The workers tell them that their protection is adequate because Mayor Giuliani has said they were safe. The men and women working rescue in New York City are amazing people, but they are not safe.
Please impress upon them (and if you have a connection with the Mayor, do what you can to have him do this as well) that they need to have and use proper safety equipment. Some of this equipment, like suits to keep clothing from contamination and canister masks for asbestos and VOC's, etc, may not be needed to safeguard their immediate safety, but it is essential for their long-term health.
Those of us on the Immune Mailing List can not help with so many aspects of rescue and cleanup. But we understand chemical injury and we hope to keep each and every one of those brave workers from joining our ranks as people disabled by toxic chemicals.
I have created a website with as much information as I can gather on safety equipment and the toxic hazards facing rescue workers and residents. Please feel free to use it in any way you see fit. I welcome additional information for the site.
September 11, 2001: The Toxic Aftermath http://www.immuneweb.org/sept11/
Thank you again for your work and please contact this list (immune@immuneweb.org) or me personally (cyndi@immuneweb.org or cnorman@best.com or 510-531-5464) if we can be of any assistance.
Sincerely,
Cyndi Norman
Administrator for the Immune Lists
http://www.immuneweb.org/
From: "Janice Comer Bradley" (jbradley@safetyequipment.org)
To: Cyndi Norman (cnorman@best.com)
Subject: Re: [IMMUNE] Re: Rush: Respirators for rescue workers
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 13:23:33 -0400
ISEA is working on a 24 hour technical resourse guide for the proper use, selection, care and maintenance of PPE. This will be names and phones numbers of technical experts for golves, Chemical PPE, respirators, etc.. I will email it to you when it is complete.