WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- A government-ordered study Monday suggests new guidelines for first responders to protect them when large buildings collapse, like they did on Sept. 11.
The RAND Corp. think tank was commissioned by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to study what happened following the attacks on the World Trade Center, when hundreds of emergency workers who responded became permanently disabled from exposures to toxic chemicals and other hazards.
To prevent injuries like these in the future, RAND drew up the guidelines published Monday.
According to a RAND statement, the guidelines "cover the full spectrum of protective equipment -- including clothing, boots, headgear, eye and face protection, gloves, and respiratory protection used by emergency responders."
The statement added that the guidelines emphasize "the need for respiratory protection and the importance of selecting protective equipment that does not impede the ability of responders to work and maneuver at a building collapse site."
The guidelines also say that the first hours are crucial, because the full extent of the hazards responders might face is uncertain.
"The most challenging risks that emergency responders need protection from are hazardous chemicals that they could inhale," said Henry Willis, a RAND researcher and lead author of the study. "These hazards are the most difficult to identify and the equipment used to protect responders from them can be the most cumbersome."
"Response to a large building collapse requires protection different than what emergency responders are typically provided," Willis added. "The hazards following the collapse of a large multi-story building are larger and more uncertain, and the duration of the response is much longer than usual."
