GSN_Oct_YUMPU

Pennsylvania sites also attacked by
9/11 terrorists. People eligible can receive
services, no matter where they
live now in the U.S. The director of
the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) administers
the “WTC Health Program”,
paid by the federal government and
New York City. 9
I was invited to participate in research
into the chemical origins of
the “WTC Cough” by the Naval Postgraduate
School in 2010. Because
no chemical-specific detectors were
used, I used an indirect forensic science
public policy approach, noting
that almost all victims suffered
from what is known in medicine as
a “pulmonary edema”, characterized
by fluid accumulation in the lungs,
which collects in air sacs. Shortness
of breath is the most common symptom
of “pulmonary edema” and is due
to the failure of the lungs to provide
adequate Oxygen to the body.
I examined the materials of construction
used in World Trade Tower
Centers 1 and 2 (WTCs), completed
in 1973 and using from 200
to 250,000 tons of common plastic,
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as insulation
in the WTCs. When the jet fuel
ignited on “9/11”, the PVC was partially
combusted, forming incomplete
product of combustion chemicals,
and creating from 10 to 15,000 tons
of Phosgene within minutes. Phosgene
is used both in industry and as a
battle field weapon.
The effects of exposure to irritants
such as Hydrogen chloride, Phosgene,
and particulates are dependent on the
size of the particle and how readily
the chemical dissolves in water. These
properties determine where in the respiratory
tract the chemical or particle
is deposited and absorbed. Hydrogen
chloride is very soluble therefore
injury occurs in the upper airway as
opposed to Phosgene, which effects
mainly in the lower respiratory tract,
the lungs.
Phosgene is deadly at a concentration
of 2 ppm. It appears as a white
cloud and has a characteristic odor of
sweet, newly mown hay in lower concentrations.
Phosgene has low water
solubility, so has a delayed onset of
action, from 30 minutes to 8 hours. It
readily reaches the respiratory alveoli
and has direct toxic effects, leading to
cellular damage of the alveolar-capillary
membrane and subsequent pulmonary
edema. 10 Alveoli tubes transfer
O2 into and CO2 out of the lungs.
Because there is no systemic absorption,
other organs are not affected. 11
I observed that when Phosgene reacted
on the moisture of the alveoli in
the lungs it formed corrosive Hydrogen
chloride (HCl). Phosgene had reacted
with the moisture of the alveoli
to form corrosive Hydrogen chloride
(HCl), causing “pulmonary edemas”
in both residents and fire fighters.
However, all Phosgene produced by
the incomplete combustion of PVC
was destroyed by the large amounts of
14
water used to fire the numerous fires
at “Ground Zero”, preventing detection
after “9/11”.
To mitigate human exposure to
Phosgene and other hazardous chemicals
when responding to emergencies,
I am designing and deploying
autonomously operated chemical security
networks capable of detecting,
identifying and measuring not only
Phosgene, but many other chemicals
using a passive standoff chemical
sensor using commercially available
Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR).
Integrated with video surveillance,
the chemical security “Tool
Box” warns emergency responders
of chemical hazards from up to three
miles away in real-time, preventing
firefighters and other emergency responders
from becoming “canaries in
a coal mine”, protecting both public
health and critical infrastructure.
Editor’s Note:
Published reports within a few days
of the 15th anniversary of 9/11 have
indicated that Christine Todd Whitman,
who was the administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency
at the time of the 9/11 disaster, has
finally apologized after fifteen years
for her claim in the days immediately
after the attacks that the air around
Ground Zero and in lower Manhattan
was safe. The reports also indicated
that Ms Whitman had stated that
More on page 46