Hundreds of workers cleaned potentially hazardous trade center dust without standard protections

NorthWest Indiana Times

From Latin American day laborers to Southern Baptist volunteers, hundreds of people cleaned potentially hazardous dust from buildings around the World Trade Center site without standard safety gear.

The cleanup continued for months after Sept. 11 as public agencies issued confusing and often reassuring assessments of risks posed by the dust, according to public documents and dozens of interviews.

Asbestos, glass particles and caustic powder settled unevenly in scores of apartment and office buildings when the twin towers collapsed and sent dust clouds rolling through lower Manhattan, public and private tests show.

More than 400 laborers have reported dizziness, coughing and other maladies months after stopping work, according to a medical team's study of their health problems, the most extensive such survey to date. Some scientists say the workers also face an elevated, if still relatively low, risk of asbestos-related cancer in coming decades.

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