Nick Acampora oral history interview conducted by Avalon Mason, October 27, 2014

About

Nick is an environmental inspector for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. He was assigned to Ground Zero a month after 9/11. Many of the structures surrounding the towers suffered structural damage and he had to inspect and survey the petroleum, hydraulic, and hazardous spills resulting from the damage. The pile that used to be the World Trade Center was so immense that words can't describe it. Nick believes the "hard hats" (union laborers, ConEd, Verizon, and Red Cross workers) did not get enough recognition for their recovery efforts. All of the buildings he had to go into looked like a "freeze frame" from the time of the attack. Nothing was touched and a layer of dust covered everything. Nick wishes the government had been upfront regarding the air quality. He was able to see how terrible it was with all the debris floating in the air. He wore a mask inside the buildings, but not outside because he was told it wasn't necessary, he was in the "open air." Nick was glad to participate in the Oral History Project because he wants everyone to know what it was really like and not only learn it from textbooks. He wants everyone to know how hard everyone worked, and how all agencies worked together to get the city running again. He is proud of how the nation reacted at that time, but is saddened by how people have forgotten about it in the ensuing years.

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Credit

Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

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