1. And what is the alternative? NOT to help rescue or to help clean up after a horrific terrorist attack? It is really a shame that people so readily displace their anger over such things to the government, and not to those who committed the act of terror in the first place. One should assume that when you put yourself in harms way, you run the risk of being harmed. Not every job is without risk. Many are horribly difficult, dangerous, and possibly thankless -- but essential all the same.

Posted at 8:42AM on Apr 17th 2006 by Patrick

2. My hunky husband worked the pile from the 12th unil FEMA arrived. (As a current First Responder and Volunteer Firefighter in Massachusetts, he showed his recently expired Red Cross and EMT credentials, and they accepted him as a volunteer. He got a blue hardhat and paper masks.) His clothes, which I washed every night, were invisible under the grimy white/grey ash. One day it rained, and the grime was turned into goop. Fast forward to Jan. '05: inoperable Stage IV pancreatic cancer. I won't stun you with those realities, but I do wish to tell you about my Anonymous Hunk:
Even if there is a cancer connection to ground zero, he feels honored to have been able to search for survivors. (How many of us stood in long blood-donor lines outside hospitals and the Javitts Center, frustrated in our need to help?)Thought about the air quality? He didn't give it serious thought and that was his risk to take. He'd do it again, too, but I'd try to prevent it with all my heart.

Posted at 2:08PM on Apr 19th 2006 by Deborah Carroll

3. Deborah -- Heroes are heroes because of the heart and compassion they possess and I know they willingly put their lives on the line to rescue others, in the face of extreme and all danger. What is disturbing to me, is hearing news that our heroes may not be receiving the honor and respect they deserve by state and federal officials who are supposed to take care of them if they need it. I find it inexcusable to turn a back on someone who would never turn their back on anyone else. I was not there that day, but if I had, I know that your husband, or someone just like him, would have been right there to help me, and I would not have been alone. Knowing this, please tell your husband thank you from an American citizen, and he will be in my prayers as he battles his cancer.

Patrick -- there was no alternative, and I know exactly who is to blame for 9/11. Terrorists. And I know there are many accepted dangers to many jobs. But that is no excuse for not taking care of the people who do those jobs on our behalf, and writing it off as just a part of their job. What concerns me now, is how well are we treating those who were there in the aftermath of the disaster, as they suffer cancers brought about from the exposure to cancer-causing chemicals.

Posted at 2:33PM on Apr 19th 2006 by Dalene

4. I'm wondering why those in authority didn't anticipate these problems and provide the necessary protection to the rescuers?

Posted at 8:48AM on Apr 26th 2006 by John White

5. SIZE MATTERS!

To date, there has been no investigation into (and publication of) the *size* of the particles found at Ground Zero.

There is no known "pulverization" mechanism which can account for so much material having been more-or-less instantly converted into such an incredibly fine powdery dust!!!

It makes much more sense to think of what occurred as MOLECULAR DISSOCIATION, resulting to exposure to unearthly high temperatures that were evidently unleashed during the willful destruction of the WTC, which would be confirmed by analysis (and electron microscope imaging) of the size of the remnant particles. see http://startech.net/plasma.html FMI

The cleansing mechanism of mammals' lungs are ineffective at removing such tiny particles (broken molecules and, in some cases, single atoms!). Think of trying to hit, with a baseball bat, a beach ball vs a baseball vs a speck of dust.

Thus it is insufficient and inadequate to think of the health risk from inhaling GZ dust merely in terms of chemical composition...

Posted at 4:06PM on May 1st 2006 by Dean