Each Breath Serves As a Daily Reminder 
by Chris Garvey   
   
   During my first trip to Ground Zero, my mind was controlled by the stench that permeated not only my senses but the Manhattan air. It was similar to the smell of burnt plastics in the form of airborne particles that introduced themselves to my lungs. Above the smoldering fires that are one hundred feet below the leveled World Trade Center, couples walked hand-in-hand wearing matching facemasks. I, like many others around me, coughed from the stinging Ground Zero air. Ignorantly, I had not expected the smell. I had prepared myself for the faces of those witnessing the destruction. I had anticipated posters of lost loved ones, but nothing could have prepared me for the smell of steel, plastic, jet fuel, insulation, concrete, glass, and death.

   Even Brooklyn could not escape the stench.  My girlfriend lives in Brooklyn Heights, which is directly across from South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan. We once would sit on the promenade in the Heights, look at the Big Apple and see the twin towers jut into the sky.  Now, two months after the attacks, a breeze can still bring in a gust of the WTC wreckage to us as we sit on that very promenade.

   Whether or not the acrid air will produce any health problems is still somewhat unknown. What were once concerns over possible health risks to those helping in the cleanup and those living in the direct vicinity are now full-blown fears. There have been reports that hundreds, even thousands of New Yorkers have gone to area hospitals like Saint Vincent’s to have sore throats and nosebleeds checked out. According to groups like the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), health side effects are real and will only increase in time.

   According to NYCOSH, there are many potential hazards facing those involved in the cleanup process and those who live in the area surrounding the WTC. NYCOSH has stated in several press releases that “any dust or ash in the vicinity of the World Trade Center site is likely to contain asbestos, cement, drywall and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) combustible products.”

   Cement and drywall dust usually contains crystalline silica which if inhaled “can cause silicosis or other potentially fatal lung diseases,” NYCOSH stated. Airborne particles created from burned plastics in insulation and furniture may cause respiratory irritation and can provoke or worsen asthma or chronic bronchitis. Asbestos, which was used in the construction of the WTC, can result in serious lung damage, and can even cause cancer if inhaled. Carbon monoxide may also “be present as a byproduct of combustion (fire)” and NYCOSH said that it “can cause a wide range of health effects, from loss of judgment to death by asphyxiation.” 

   The multi-layered stench reinforces the seriousness of what happened on that mid-fall morning. As I walked down Christopher Street this past December weekend, that smell of plastics, insulation and PVC still lingered strongly in the air. Not only does it make breathing more difficult, but it reminds us all of what happened.