‘Protective gear is crucial’: Debris at Surfside condo could have health consequences

As the sun rose over what was left of Champlain Tower condos Friday morning, clouds of smoke and dust filtered through the light.

Although the public isn’t allowed to get within blocks of the scene on Collins Avenue, victims who may be trapped underneath the ruins and the teams searching for them could be inhaling dangerous levels of particles in the air.

“Our rescue teams and firefighters are the heroes that risk their own lives, time and time again to help others,” said University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Professor Dr. Shirin Shafazand. “There is no doubt that they are being exposed to pollutants and particulate matter that can lead to burns, short-term and long-term lung injury. Their use of appropriate protective gear is crucial.”

The dust is particulate matter and debris from the collapsed building, a mixture of organic and inorganic matter, but the actual content depends on multiple variables — what material the building was made of, whether there were fires on the site after the collapse, and impact of wind and humidity, Shafazand said.

At construction sites, another situation in which there are exposed building materials, silica dust in the air is a common hazard. When small particles of silica are inhaled, they can cause irreversible damage to the lungs, according to OSHA.

Generally, construction sites are required to have a dust control plan, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources for Miami-Dade County. One common method: watering.

“In many sites that’s watering, you literally hose the site down to keep dust to a minimum,” she said.

Because water tends to be a solution to keep dust down, the recent rain in Miami could help mitigate high dust levels at the site, the spokesperson said. She could not speak to the air quality of the site, as the department has not yet been able to conduct an assessment there.

Inhaling airborne smoke and dust can damage the lungs and airways, and can lead to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, asthma, and silicosis, among other conditions, according to the Library of Construction Occupational Safety and Health. Construction workers and others who work closely with construction dust are at a higher risk of developing these diseases.

When people inhale this air, they may experience cough, irritated throat and nasal congestion, according to Shafazand. Those who are elderly or young, those who are exposed the longest, those with underlying lung conditions such as asthma, lung scarring or fibrosis, COPD and emphysema, or those with heart disease or heart failure may have more difficulty breathing.

In addition to hazardous fumes, rescue workers and emergency responders working at collapsed structures could also be at risk of hazardous materials like ammonia, leaking fuel and natural gas leaks creating flammable and toxic environments, according to OSHA.

The area is closed to the public and the media, but certain elected officials and others were escorted Thursday to view the damage from the northern side of the building.

The visitors, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Democratic state Sens. Jason Pizzo and Lauren Book, were asked to wear masks by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel as they overlooked the rubble from a nearby pool deck.

Miami-Dade Fire Chief of Operations Ray Jadallah told reporters that while small fires reignited overnight and caused some smoke to fill the scene during the day, the fires “did not slow down the search and rescue.”

Just being around the fires can be “very dangerous,” depending on the chemicals being burned and how long a person is exposed to it, Shafazand said.

Inhaling smoke can cause thermal injury — which is when the heat burns the hair in the airways from the nose down to the cells lining the airway. It can also cause chemical injury — when the burned chemicals destroy lung tissue and the lining of the airways leading to inflammation of the lungs, narrowing of and spasms in the airways and shortness of breath.

Firefighters may wear specialized respirators known as airway protection masks that are self-contained breathing apparatus, or SCBA, depending on level of exposure and particulate matter or smoke, Shafazand said.

“These are effective but heavy and cumbersome and have to be protective,” she said.