Macho Mistakes at Ground Zero

As more and more workers who inhaled the dust at ground zero fall ill, it has become increasingly clear that much of the problem can be traced to the Giuliani administration’s failure to insist that all emergency personnel and construction workers at the site wear respirators.

The then-mayor and his agency heads put their emphasis on a speedy cleanup and return to normalcy. In that, they were remarkably successful, clearing the site in less than 10 months. Unfortunately, the price is now being paid by thousands of workers who have developed lung and other ailments.

By late October, only 29 percent of workers at ground zero were wearing the respirators, and even Mayor Giuliani visited without wearing one, setting a terrible example. This was a case where workers should have been protected against their own destructive instincts.