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I am an attorney admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey with a concentration on criminal law.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Who really cleaned up after September 11?

It was announced this weekend that an agreement was reached to settle the lawsuit made by the workers that cleaned up after September 11.  The settlement totals at least $625 million to go more than 10,000 workers who cleaned up the most heart wrenching and violent event ever on American soil.  The settlements are ranked and payouts will range from $3,250 to $1.8 million or more to each claimant based upon the severity of their injuries.  The question I have is why weren't these workers better protected in the first instant?  Why weren't these "first responders"  better protected from the dust and fumes?  What tests were performed by the government to declared that the air was safe to continue the recovery effort?  As I watched the recovery effort being made by the proud and brave workers on television it resembled a science fiction scene from another planet.  A destroyed and broken planet.  When Christine Todd Whitman of the Environmental Protection Agency and former New Jersey Governor announced the air was safe for the workers to work in, it struck me as incredible that the air was safe.  Even from my vantage point, viewing the dust and fumes rising from the ruins as I watched the recovery efforts unfold on television it seemed anything but safe.  The question remains how adequate were the efforts made by the state and federal governments to test the air and make certain that the workers were safe as they did the dirty work for the families of the victims and the dirty work of our state and federal representatives. 
So who really cleaned up after September 11?  The first responders, their families and the generations that follow in their footsteps.  Let's just hope that if there is ever a next time we get the outpouring of help that we got after this great tragedy and this time the responders are protected.
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