2012-12-13

911 disaster preparedness

11.15 ..12.12: pol/purges/controlled demolition
11.24: news: summary/
cancers from dioxin and asbestos:

. many 9/11 cancers may be from dioxin (burning chlorine):
Chlorine + Heat = Dioxin. This is finally a proven
possible alternate source for several of the cancers .
. the Lioy report also gives a maximum percentage of
20% volatile compounds in the WTC dust
and approximately 2% asbestos was also present .
11.24: summary/prevention:

. part of preventing a similar 9-11,
is knowing where all the old tall buildings are,
as you can be assured they will have asbestos,
and someone will make money if they are bombed .
. this is usually a problem only for the lower class;
ie, the slums typically get put in harm's way;
but a lot of young educated professionals
are moving back to the city,
and they should know that terrorism there
will mean a lot of cancer (in addition to inconvenience!).
. also, any fire-prone place will cause cancer
as even modern buildings use PVC pipe,
and burning that produces estrogenic dioxin .
12.13:
. if much of the asbestos was dustified,
then the main problem from that
would be silicosis not cancer;
but there are many other reasons for cancers .
12.1: news: summary/prevention/
WTC Evacuation Study
:

Preparedness Grand Round Series 2007:
The World Trade Center Evacuation Study:
. in the oklahoma bombing 1995,
we learned federal buildings can be a target;
and, targets may not be the best place to put
a daycare center (it was on the ground floor
right next to the truck bomb ).
. 9-11 had 2749 deaths -- more than pearl harbor .
[. in both cases (truck and jet bombs)
it would be nice to build down not up,
and never build huge structures on the coast .
. our 24-hour shadow gov does just that:
bunkers are always underground, not erections .

residentials:
. roof-top escape is not an option for all:
many have high security you won't find a way through .
. security-locked stairwells should auto-unlock .
. in the case of 9-11, it was too smokey on the roof,
and there would have been too many people to helicopter .

9/11's evac was helped by '93 bomb improvements:
. use a public announcement system
that demands people leave during the smoke and noise .
. many need a live person, not a recording,
explaining any special details
of what the emergency symptoms actually are,
and preceded by an annoying signal,
or else people tend to stay attentive to their work .
. in one tower,
the sabotage had destroyed the PA system:
thus, there is a need to have cell phones for all .
. cell phone systems near towers
must be able to handle at least texting
to all cells at the same time .
. some cell towers were damaged;
everyone with verizon service was not getting calls .

. needed to widen the stairwells
to allow quicker evacuation
-- that was suggested after the previous bombing
but they had been unable to implement it .
(another reason this building had to come down?)
[ from the top floor it takes 57min down the stairs
even with no waiting for crowds
100 stories up, a lucky survivor saw one tower hit
and started taking the stairs down the other tower .]

. need to be healthy if the elevators aren't working
(the plane strike disabled the elevator cables,
so a backup electrical would not have helped)
. how much time is needed for salvaging things
or making long calls?
. people are seen during a drill
taking too many things with them
(coat, briefcase, bookpack).

know your options for exit
-- it was not easy for many --
50% said they couldn't even get out alone,
because if stairwells stop on some floor,
and then start again by some random door,
you need to know how to find that door in the dark .
. many had not participated in a fire drill
that actually led them out the building via their stair path;
this is how they could not have gotten out without assist .
. it could be smokey so can you think how to
control breathing between fresh spots ?
29% thought their health conditions at the time
could have slowed their escape;

video's 41-min point:
. youth from a financial firm may become
panic-stricken and push you aside
while trying to run down the stairs .
. others were mentally frozen
and had to be carried .

. some of the disabled were dependent on
built-in life support offered by their
huge motorized chairs, and therefore they
depended on the elevators working,
despite it being known that elevators can fail in fire .
. they then needed help down the stairs,
each needed 2 teams 4 on each corner taking turns
-- very slow . that was 2001,
massive internet was just a few years old then
and working from home was still not common .

. leadership experience became a form of disability;
they literally went down with their ship,
making sure all were organized,
and all were not savable due to
the complications involving their disabilities;
therefore, they were more likely to be taken out
by an unexpectedly quick demolition .

. some had stopped to change shoes
(dressy heels vs walking?)
. many lost shoes or other things
that litter the dark stairs,
then glass all over gets cut,
and they had to be carried by people who
tripped on lost high-heel shoes .

. there were a lot of respiratory and mental disorders
after 9-11's attempted-murder trauma
(and possible conspiracy paranoia?)
. they weren't pointing out cancers
but clean-up crews got these a lot .
. some were pulled out alive from the rubble on the way out;
[ this was a very clean and complete
non-radiating nuclear demolition ].

. NYC now has a law for Emergency Action Plan
aka Controlled Demolition coming soon
to a theater near you!
it mandates development of a model for
high-rise workplace emergency preparedness plans .
. it also deals with dirty bomb attack
(only true terrorists will have those!)

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