Professor of Anthropology Richard Gould is no stranger to disaster scenes. As founder and director of a volunteer forensic recovery group, Gould has previously worked to identify human remains at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, where a 2003 fire killed 100 people. It was because of this reputation that Gould was recently called upon by relatives of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City to evaluate continued efforts to locate and identify human remains at a building near the World Trade Center site.
Following a complicated approval process, Gould was allowed on Aug. 8 to examine the forensic archaeology efforts taking place at the Deutsche Bank building, which is located a short distance from Ground Zero and was damaged significantly on Sept. 11. His goal was to review the quality of the recovery efforts in light of reports earlier this year that the excavation process was substandard.
In a report filed to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City, Gould wrote that the work being done is the "best possible under the circumstances" and is generating a 90 to 95 percent level of recovery. The report was leaked to the press on Aug. 25 and made public by the OCME shortly thereafter.
Gould's report was the first eyewitness description of the effort from a third party and the first public report on the quality of the work being done.
"In effect, what I saw during this site visit was a sustained, controlled recovery effort that has hit its stride and should be continued as long as it is safe to do so," Gould wrote in the report.
Gould's trip to the Deutsche Bank site came at the request of Sally Regenhard, chair of the Skyscraper Safety Campaign, an organization of victims' relatives. The organization expressed concerns after several media outlets reported in April that ex-firefighters and construction workers may have used rakes and shovels to comb the debris instead of a systematic method overseen by archaeologists.
Gould also said he hopes the report will be the first step in dealing with what Regenhard referred to as an "information void." No news was released to the families on the quality of the recovery since April, Gould said. In his report, Gould suggested that "some of the misunderstandings during the Deutsche Bank Building recovery operations could have been avoided by timely bulletins from the OCME about the excellent work taking place there once it began."
Though he made the trip to the Deutsche Bank site alone, Gould's prior experience near Ground Zero was part of an effort by Forensic Archaeology Recovery, a volunteer organization formed in 2002 to help "local authorities locate, record, and recover human remains ... at mass-fatality disaster scenes," according to its Web site. FAR's first effort at forensic archaeology was on Barclay Street, which is located a few blocks away from Ground Zero. FAR also helped identify remains after the Station nightclub fire.
Despite backing from victims' relatives, getting permission to inspect the recovery effort was not easy, Gould said.
"We had to elbow our way in," he said. "Prying open the doors of power is difficult in New York City."
Gould was initially denied access to the site by the OCME. However, following a July 15 demonstration from a number of groups, including the Skyscraper Safety Campaign, and a letter from Gould to the office of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Gould was given permission to inspect the site.
In order to receive access to the site, Gould had to undergo a series of tests - including X-rays and blood tests - and complete courses to prepare him for the hazardous conditions faced by workers, including an Occupational Safety and Health Administration asbestos awareness course. He also needed to obtain his own equipment, including a respirator. Gould was able to use contacts at the University and FAR to complete all of these requirements and more in just 48 hours.
Just scheduling a respirator medical can take several weeks, noted Steve Morin, director of environmental safety and a member of the FAR team. "A lot of people who aren't connected to a school like Brown would have a hard time" meeting the requirements Gould did so quickly, Morin added.
The quick turnaround was essential because victims' families thought the process was being delayed unnecessarily, Gould said.
Gould stressed there were a lot of people at Brown who helped him complete the requirements. Morin helped arrange some of the necessary training and lent Gould his respirator. A number of administrative offices at the University also provided assistance, including the Office of the Provost and Jeanne Hebert, director of the Office of Insurance and Risk, Gould said. He added that Michael Gaughan, vice president and general counsel, and several other members of the general counsel's office reviewed and approved a waiver to secure compensation for workers within the 48 hours.
"People involved in those offices understood the urgency of this," Gould said. "I think the administration at Brown made a very good showing."
Regenhard extended her thanks to Gould, the University and the members of FAR who provided assistance. "We are so grateful to (Gould) and to Brown University and to (FAR) and to so many of the other entities that helped him to make this a reality," she said.
Regenhard's son, Christian, a probationary firefighter, was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. His remains have not been found.
Regenhard, however, stressed that despite the "level of competence" displayed during Gould's one-day inspection of the site, the low quality of the recovery efforts reported in April has "characterized the search since (Sept. 11, 2001)."
"The exact protocols that (Gould) observed, will that be continued?" Regenhard asked.
She added that there needs to be a commitment to widen the search around Ground Zero to other buildings. Gould agreed, noting that Fitterman Hall, another building near Ground Zero, would need similar attention.
Regenhard said she hopes a "transparent liaison" will be established between the OCME and victims' relatives. This liasion could be someone from the University or some other qualified person Gould could suggest, she said.
Gould said he hopes the publication of his report will help solve this issue by making it "very hard for New York to retreat from this level of (quality)."
