WORKING THROUGH 9/11

摘要

I've been asked to give you my personal account of working in Lower Manhattan on the morning of 9/11. I'll attempt, briefly, to describe what it was that we did on that day and what we did on the subsequent days after these events. Finally, I'll share with you what lessons we learned as a result of these experiences and what we are doing to prepare for future terrorist events that may involve radiation. In retrospect, I am amazed at the rapidity of the events as they occurred on 9/11, My offices are located at 2 Lafayette Street, about five blocks diagonally northeast from the World Trade Center Complex and one block south of the Health Department on Worth Street. At 8:48 a.m. 1 World Trade Center was struck as I was on my way from my building to a meeting at Worth Street and after I got to my meeting location I saw 2 World Trade Center being hit by a plane on live television at 9:03 a.m. Fifteen minutes had elapsed since the North Tower had been hit. At 9:59 a.m., fifty-six minutes after it was struck, 2 World Trade Center collapsed. At 10:28 a.m. 1 World Trade Center collapsed. By that time I was back in my offices. With the collapse of 1 World Trade Center, we lost our telephones and NEXTEL cell phone capabilities. Private cell phones worked sporadically. By 11:30, my building was evacuated, clerical staff were sent home, technical staff had regrouped at the Health Department, and the lobby of the Department had been transformed into a first-aid station to help victims staggering north from the World Trade site.