Actually everyone was told to wear respirators in the pit because the air was fucked up. The EPA was made to do tests and they said the air wasn't safe in the pit without respirators.
I remember a TV show (maybe 20/20) and they were in the pit about 3-4 weeks after 9/11 and they asked the firefighters why they weren't wearing their masks and they said they breathed this shit for 20 years.
Most of them had the respirators hanging around their neck !
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