Eegore wrote on 09/11/19 at 06:54:04:"Eegore has a great point that I obviously overlooked.
Are you lying about this? Do you have proof of your claim?
Who was it that ordered the first responders to not wear their respirators?
This sounds like a huge lie. What's worse, if you believe it, that makes you even less credible."
I doubt we will have any resolution to this. What I can say is my observed reality indicates that when I see all this memorial footage from 2011, people are wearing respirators.
With that being said Christine Todd Whitman was the head of the EPA at the time. She did make statements right after: "I am glad to reassure the people of New York … that their air is safe to breathe and their water is safe to drink.", also: "public in these areas are not being exposed to excessive levels of asbestos or other harmful substances."
These statements followed the original press release: "sampling of bulk materials and dust found generally low levels of asbestos. The levels of lead, asbestos and volatile organic compounds in air samples taken Tuesday in Brooklyn, downwind from the World Trade Center site, were not detectable or not of concern."
This by my standard is not an "Order" by the EPA, or by anyone, to stop wearing PPE. One could wear a respirator.
But it sure sounds better to spin the wording so it makes the negligence appear more than what it is.
It's quite possibly a miscommunication based on the definitions of a respirator and PPE which maybe a mask with a tank of air vs. a mask with a filter.