Byline: DINA CAPPIELLO and CLAIRE HUGHES Staff writers
When there still was hope that people could be pulled alive from the rubble of the World Trade Center, rescue workers from the Capital Region were among the first to rush to New York City's aid.
Some say they returned home less healthy than when they left.
At least a half-dozen members of the Capital District Urban Search and Rescue Team said they came back from ground zero with respiratory ailments they believe were caused by breathing smoke and dust on 12-hour shifts that for some spanned 14 straight days.
Their symptoms ranged widely -- from a dry cough and sinus pressure to bronchitis and pneumonia. Most are over the worst of their symptoms, though a few have lingering coughs and sinus troubles.
While the amount of possible contaminants at the World Trade Center site and the duration of the rescue work were unprecedented, no one may ever know whether the problems plaguing the local firefighters and emergency medical technicians on the team were caused by their exposure at ground zero, or by other fires they have battled over their careers, or some other, unrelated germ or virus.
And if symptoms should appear down the road, it will be difficult to link them to the days spent on the ground in lower Manhattan.
``The potential hazards there are probably not much different than a smaller structure. You stand on a street corner with a house fire and who knows what you are breathing in,'' said Brian Rousseau of Hoosick Falls, a team leader for the 135-member squad. ``It's an issue of scale.''
Rousseau, a firefighter, spent 16 days at ground zero. At one time, he worked two days straight without rest. He lost his voice for four days and had the so-called ``rescuers' cough,'' but said he feels fine now.
``You're looking at one short-term, potentially very large exposure,'' said Dr. John Silvernail, a 37-year-old family physician and volunteer firefighter from Philmont who also is on the team. ``I don't know if there's anything in the literature to say what happens to these people.''
Silvernail said the air was so thick with particles he could taste the grit. Concerned about the health risk, he directed all team members to have chest X-rays and blood tests done at St. Clare's Hospital in Schenectady when they returned. Most passed the screenings without any serious problems and saw their own physicians later.
John Van Raalte, director of industrial hygiene services for the Eastern New York Occupational and Environmental Health Center in Albany, said his office attempted to reach out to area workers and volunteers who helped out at the World Trade Center, but heard from no one with health problems.
He said the risk would vary, depending on a person's role in the rescue efforts.
``Standing on the perimeter, there really wasn't much exposure, in my judgment,'' Van Raalte said. ``But I think if you were on that pile, clearly there were a lot of health issues.''
Thousands of New York National Guard troops, who were in charge of securing the site's boundaries and not on the rubble, reported no ailments, said spokesman Scott Sandman.
``At this time, we have experienced no evidence of respiratory problems among our troops as a result of service at or near ground zero,'' he said.
The chemicals rescue workers were exposed to in the first weeks after the collapse were recorded by several federal agencies, and some samples were collected by members of the Urban Search and Rescue Team.
They found high levels of benzene and dioxin -- known carcinogens -- and low levels of asbestos, which can lodge into lungs. The benzene and dioxin were byproducts of tons of burning plastic and other debris. About 300 to 400 tons of asbestos were used as insulation on 40 floors of the north tower.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has 20 air monitors in and around ground zero, said the levels weren't high enough to be hazardous, but the EPA urged workers on the scene for long periods of time to take precautions. ``We weren't finding a whole lot there, assuming someone was wearing the proper protection,'' said Mary Mears, an EPA spokeswoman.
Capital Region rescue team members said masks to filter polluted air weren't always worn.
``We protected our people the best we could given the situation we were in,'' said Gerry Morigerato of Latham, who spent 16 days at ground zero as the hazardous materials team leader for the squad. Morigerato said that because the collapse of the towers was so catastrophic and emotionally overwhelming, there wasn't time to take some usual precautions.
Those who arrived first began digging through the smoldering rubble without masks because there weren't enough to go around.
The later arrivals had masks with sophisticated filters, but they didn't always use them.
``For the most part, we had pretty good success in reminding people to wear masks,'' said Michael DellaRocco, 50, assistant chief of the Schenectady Fire Department.
DellaRocco returned with a minor sinus infection and a phlegm-filled cough -- typical symptoms for the team, he said.
Others' problems were more severe. Kurt Siegel, another Schenectady firefighter, sneezed blood before his sinus infection was diagnosed. Even with antibiotics, it took more than two months for the 44-year-old's painful infection to clear.
Two of three Saratoga Springs Fire Department members returned less healthy than when they left. One has just stopped getting treatments for breathing problems, said Fire Chief Robert Cogan.
Others may have suffered symptoms they won't acknowledge or can't separate from other infections prevalent around this time of year.
``We're firefighters; we're stoic,'' said Siegel, who didn't go to a doctor until he started reading in newspapers about New York rescue workers who had symptoms similar to his own.
Ultimately, several firefighters were found to have bronchitis, a common diagnosis when respiratory problems can't be clearly identified, Silvernail said.
Dr. Geoffrey Serfilippi, an Albany pulmonologist, said many World Trade Center rescue workers are suffering from ``reactive airways dysfunction syndrome,'' or RADS. That diagnosis is made for people who develop asthmalike symptoms but have no history of the disease, particularly after exposure to noxious substances, Serfilippi said. Typically, the airways and bronchial tubes swell. Sometimes the airways never bounce back to normal, and over time they don't respond to the steroids and dilators used to restore breathing, he said.
``Some people will have persistent airway trouble for years,'' Serfilippi said. ``We know that this can really be a long-term problem.''
State and federal health officials have begun studies they hope will offer clues to the long-term health effects for people exposed to contaminants at the World Trade Center site, but most of that research is focusing on firefighters from New York City, who spent many more days in the rubble.
Still, the local rescue workers expressed no regrets about their duty.
``At the time, it wasn't anything that we really paused to think about,'' DellaRocco said. ``We had work to do -- and that was the most important thing to do.'' FACTS:Testing the air In the days following the World Trade Center disaster, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency collected 835 air samples from 16 monitors around Ground Zero. Up until Sept. 30, this is what was found: Of 442 air samples, 27 were above asbestos standard for children re-entering a school Of 177 bulk dust and debris samples, 48 contained asbestos Of 36 samples of volatile organic compounds, 3 above standard for workers Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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PAUL BUCKOWSKI/TIMES UNION FIREFIGHTER Brian Rousseau says he lost his voice while working at ground zero.
