Health effects arising from the September 11, 2001 attacks
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Into 2006 there has been growing concern over the health effects of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the Financial District of lower Manhattan. With the moment of the collapse of the twin towers and Building 7 of the World Trade Center, pulverized buildings, electronic equipment and furniture propelled forward from former buildings.
Additionally, in the five months following the attacks dust from the pulverized buildings continued to fill the air of the World Trade Center site (following the attacks, referred to as Ground Zero. See World Trade Center site.). Increasing numbers of New York residents are reporting symptoms of Ground Zero respiratory illnesses.[1]
[edit] Materials in the 9/11 cloud and potential for causing Ground Zero illnesses
The dust from the collapsed towers was "wildly toxic," according to air pollution expert and University of California Davis Professor Emeritus Thomas Cahill. [2] The thousands of tons of toxic debris resulting from the collapse of the Twin Towers consisted of more than 2,500 contaminants,[1] more specifically: 50% nonfibrous material and construction debris; 40% glass and other fibers; 9.2% cellulose; and 0.8% asbestos,[2] lead, and mercury. There were also unprecedented levels of dioxin and PAHs from the fires which burned for three months.[3] Some of the dispersed substances (crystalline silica, lead, cadmium, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) are carcinogenic; other substances can trigger kidney, heart, liver and nervous system deteriation. [4]
[edit] Ground Zero illnesses
This has led to debilitating illnesses among rescue and recovery workers, and the death of NYPD Detective James Zadroga.[5] Increasing numbers of cases are appearing in which first responders are developing serious respiratory ailments. [3] Health effects also extended to some residents, students, and office workers of Lower Manhattan and nearby Chinatown.[6]
[edit] Ground zero workers and cancer
In November 28, 2006 the "Village Voice" reported that several dozen recovery personnel have developed cancer --as opposed to having contracted respiratory ailments, and that doctors have argued that these cancers developed as a result of the exposure to toxins at the Ground Zero site: "To date, 75 recovery workers at ground zero have been diagnosed with blood cell cancers that a half-dozen top doctors and epidemiologists have confirmed as having been likely caused by that exposure." [7]
[edit] Judgments and statements by leading physicians
Dr. Larry Norton of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital said "Why isn't the whole nation mobilizing to take care of the chronic health impact of this disaster?". Dr. Norton cited the 70 percent illness rate among first responders as "a wake up call." Dr. Nathaniel Hupert of Weill Cornell Medical College, quoted by Jill Gardiner of the October 4, 2006 issue of the New York Sun said that premature deaths and other ailments of dogs in the area are "our canary in the coalmine."[4] Richard Clapp and David Ozonoff, professors of environmental health at Boston University School of Public Health; Michael Thun, director of epidemiological research at the American Cancer Society; Francine Laden, assistant professor of environmental epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health; Jonathan Samet, chairman of the epidemiology department at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Charles Hesdorffer, associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine argue that the cancer incidence among monitored individuals cannot be called a coincidence. They assert that the Ground Zero cloud was likely the cause of the illnesses.[8]
[edit] Ongoing monitoring of first responder' and residents' health
There is scientific speculation that exposure to various toxic products and the pollutants in the air surrounding the Towers after the WTC collapse may have negative effects on fetal development. Due to this potential hazard, a notable children's environmental health center is currently analyzing the children whose mothers were pregnant during the WTC collapse, and were living or working near the World Trade Center towers. The staff of this study assesses the children using psychological testing every year and interviews the mothers every six months. The purpose of the study is to determine whether there is significant difference in development and health progression of children whose mothers were exposed, versus those who were not exposed after the WTC collapse.[9]
Mount Sinai Medical Center is conducting an ongoing monitoring program, World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program.[5] A leader of Mt. Sinai monitoring efforts is Stephen M. Levin, Medical Director of the Mount Sinai – Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine. [6] First responders met in a conference, November 11, 2006 in an effort to monitor responders' health. The event was organized by the World Trade Center Monitoring Program. [7]
[edit] Lack of insurance
40 percent of the World Trade Center workers being monitored by a Mount Sinai Hospital study lack health insurance. [8]
[edit] Early findings and muted warnings about Ground Zero air
Dr. Fred Kilbourne, A high level federal scientist, issued a memo on September 12, 2001 to the Centers for Disease Control against the speedy return to buildings in the area because of possible hazards from various toxic materials.[10]
Associate City Health Commissioner Kelly McKinney on October 6, 2001 said that proper safety protocol for WTC site workers was not being enforced.[11]
[edit] Political controversies and Ground Zero health effects
- President George W. Bush's alleged manipulation of EPA statements
President Bush has been faulted for interfering with the Environmental Protection Agency interpretations and pronouncements regarding air quality.[9]
- Early statement by Christine Todd Whitman
On September 18, 2001 Environmental Protection Agency head Christine Todd Whitman told the public, via a press release, "We are very encouraged that the results from our monitoring of air-quality and drinking-water conditions in both New York and near the Pentagon show that the public in these areas is not being exposed to excessive levels of asbestos or other harmful substances" and that "Given the scope of the tragedy from last week, I am glad to reassure the people of New York . . . that their air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink." [12]
- Alleged EPA deceptions about Ground Zero air quality
An August 2003 report by the Office of the Inspector General of the EPA claimed that the Bush administration pressured the EPA to remove cautionary information about the air quality at Ground Zero.
Numerous key differences between the draft versions and final versions of EPA statements were found. A recommendation that homes and businesses near ground zero be cleaned by professionals was replaced by a request that citizens follow orders from NYC officials. Another statement that showed concerns about "sensitive populations" was deleted altogether. Language used to describe excessive amounts of asbestos in the area was altered drastically to minimize the dangers it posed.[13]
In September of 2006 the US House Committee on Homeland Security held a two day long hearing on the subject of illnesses caused by post-9/11 air quality and former EPA head Christine Todd Whitman was a frequent target of criticism.[14]
EPA scientist Dr. Cate Jenkins appeared on CBS television on September 8, 2006 and said that agency officials lied about the air quality in the weeks following September 11, 2001. She said that in her opinion the EPA knew about the toxicity of the air, and that WTC dust included asbestos and disturbingly high PH levels. She said that some of the dust was "as caustic and alkaline as Drano." [10]
On September 13, 2006, Congressmen Jerrold Nadler (NY), Anthony Weiner (NY), Bill Pascrell Jr. (NJ) filed a request with US Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez to investigate whether criminal charges may be brought against Whitman for lying about air safety in the Ground Zero area.[11]
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation conducted a study of the World Trade Center site. However, it refused to release the results of its study, saying that the results were a study of a "criminal investigation." [15]
See EPA 9/11 pollution controversy
See article on EPA head Christine Todd Whitman for her position on the air quality issue.
- Mayor Bloomberg‘s skepticism of Ground Zero illness and opposition to New York’s paying death benefits
New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg doubts a link between Ground Zero air and first responders' health problems: "I don't believe that you can say specifically a particular problem came from this particular effect."[12] He opposed the city’s paying death benefits for New York Police Department and Fire Department of New York members who reported to the World Trade Center site and subsequently suffered Ground Zero health effects. He cited the $5 million to $10 million per year benefit cost as too expensive for the city.[16] On October 17, 2006, federal judge Alvin K. Hellerstein rejected New York City's motion to dismiss lawsuits that requested health payments to the first responders. [17]
- Alleged government minimization of health risks of Ground Zero vicinity
Critics assert that government officials, notably, US President Bush and then New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani minimized the health risks of the area and rushed to reopen the area.[18][19] Mayor Giuliani said, in the first month after the attacks, "The air quality is safe and acceptable."[20] In a September 18, 2006 New York Daily News article titled, "Rudy's Black Cloud: WTC health risks may hurt Prez Bid," Sally Regenhard, mother of Firefighter Christian Regenhard, who died on September 11, is quoted, "There's a large and growing number of both FDNY families, FDNY members, former and current, and civilian families who want to expose the true failures of the Giuliani administration when it comes to 9/11." She told the New York Daily News that she intends to "Swift Boat" Giuliani.[21]
[edit] Vulnerable individuals
- First responders
In particular, first responders, New York Police Department and Fire Department of New York members that reported to Ground Zero, have asserted that they are victims of diseases associated with the toxic cloud associated with the pulverized buildings and equipment. See article, Rescue and recovery effort after the September 11, 2001 attacks. 34-year old NYPD Detective Zadroga was the first 9/11 responder whose 2006 death was directly linked with toxic Ground Zero substances. [22] Gerard Breton, a pathologist of the Ocean County, New Jersey, medical examiner's office (which conducted an autopsy), reported that "It is felt with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of death in this case was directly related to the 9/11 incident." [23] [13]
- Various volunteers
Hundreds of volunteer firefighters, construction workers, health professionals, clergy, and other individuals descended upon the scene in the days immediately following the attacks. These individuals volunteered directly at the Ground Zero site or cared for traumatized responders. Among individuals in the latter group, newspaper accounts have cited South Carolinian Episcopal nun, Sister Cindy Mahoney’s death as a fatality of Ground Zero illness. Mahoney spent several months attending to first responders’ spiritual needs. Two weeks prior to her death, she was cut off from her insurance. She choked to death, November 1, 2006, following five years of lung troubles. [24]
Sen. Hillary Clinton on Sister Mahoney and Ground Zero illness: “We know that so many are now suffering health effects from breathing the toxic air at Ground Zero . . . . Yet there are still some who doubt the link. By raising attention to her own devastating illness, Sister Mahoney will continue as she did in life, to help those affected by 9/11.”[25]
- Janitorial workers
Manuel Checo is one of many janitors that performed cleanup work who now suffer from World Trade Center cough. He spent six months at that the site. Compounding janitorial workers’ troubles, three-quarters of them lack health insurance.[14]
- Financial district personnel
Mayor Rudy Giuliani acted quickly to "reopen Wall Street." The Wall Street area reopened for business opened on September 17.
- Educators and students
Students and staff at Stuyvesant High School returned to the school which lies within one-third of a mile of the World Trade Center site, while fires at Ground Zero were still burning at Ground Zero. Alumni are circulating a petition for greater attention to health problems related to the Ground Zero air.[15] [16] There is a debate over whether the 2002 Class President Amit Friedlander's developing cancer is related to Ground Zero air. See the Stuyvesant High School article.
[edit] Pending legislation
Various bills are sitting before Congress: The Remember 9/11 Health Act and the James Zadroga Act. The sponsor of the Remember 9/11 Health Act is sponsored by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. [17] The sponsors of the Zadroga Act are Senator Robert Menendez and Congresswoman Maloney. [18] [19] [20]
On September 13, 2006 Sen. Clinton brought an amendment to a piece of ports security legislation, aiming to create a five-year, $1.9 billion treatment program for sufferers of Ground Zero dust and fumes after-effects.[21]
[edit] Litigation
Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn residents brought a 111-page lawsuit against the EPA for purported deception of the public about hazards of Ground Zero air and dust. A major force behind this effort is Brooklyn resident Jenna Orkin of the World Trade Center Environmental Organization. On February 2, 2006 Federal Court Judge Deborah Batts issued an 83 page statement, indicating that there are sufficient grounds for the case to proceed. She also rejected granting Whitman immunity from the lawsuit. [22]
[edit] Ground Zero environmental advocacy organizations
[edit] Book
Juan Gonzalez, Fallout: The Environmental Consequences of the World Trade Center Collapse (2002), ISBN 156584754
[edit] Documentary films
- Dust to Dust: The Health Effects of 9/11, by Heidi Dehncke -Fisher, produced by Bruce Kennedy.
- Dust to Deceipt, by Penny Little, produced by People to People TV.
- Toxic Legacy, by Susan Teskey, produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, aired in September, 2006 on Discovery Times.
[edit] References
- ^ Anita Gates, "Buildings Rise from Rubble while Health Crumbles," "New York Times," September 11, 2006, reporting on the documentary by Heidi Dehncke-Fisher, "Dust to Dust: The Health Effects of 9/11"
- ^ "What was Found in the Dust", New York Times, September 5, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ Dr. Dennis Charney, in the September 2006 edition of Environmental Health Perspectives, the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
- ^ Anita Gates, "Buildings Rise from Rubble while Health Crumbles," "New York Times," September 11, 2006, reporting on the documentary, "Dust to Dust: The Health Effects of 9/11"
- ^ Schapiro, Rich. "WTC air doomed ex-cop", New York Daily News, April 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ Updated Ground Zero Report Examines Failure of Government to Protect Citizens. Sierra Club (2006). Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ http://villagevoice.com/news/0648,lombardi,75156,2.html Kristen Lombardi, "Death by Dust: The frightening link between the 9-11 toxic cloud and cancer," "Village Voice," November 28, 2006
- ^ Kristen Lombardi, "Village Voice," "Death by Dust The frightening link between the 9-11 toxic cloud and cancer," November 28. 2006 http://villagevoice.com/news/0648,lombardi,75156,2.html
- ^ CCCEH Study of the Effects of 9/11 on Pregnant Women and Newborns. World Trade Center Pregnancy Study. Columbia University (2006). Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ Juan Gonzalez, "Clearing the Air with Truth," "New York Daily News," September 5, 2001.
- ^ Juan Gonzalez, "Clearing the Air with Truth," "New York Daily News," September 5, 2001.
- ^ http://villagevoice.com/news/0648,lombardi,75156,2.html Kristen Lombardi, "Death by Dust The frightening link between the 9-11 toxic cloud and cancer," "Village Voice," November 28, 2006
- ^ Laurie Garrett. "EPA Misled Public on 9/11 Pollution", Newsday, August 23, 2003.
- ^ Devlin Barrett. "EPA, NYC Blamed for 9/11 Health Problems", Associated Press, September 8, 2006.
- ^ Juan Gonzalez, "Fallout: The Hidden Consequences of 9/11," "In These Times," September 10, 2002 http://www.alternet.org/911oneyearlater/14073/
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/15/nyregion/15benefits.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
- ^ Anthony DePalma, "Ruling Opens a Door for Thousands of Ground Zero Lawsuits," "New York Times," October 18, 2006, B1,
- ^ Persons interviewed in Dust to Dust:The Health Effects of 9/11.
- ^ Ben Smith, Rudy's Black Cloud: WTC Health Risks May Hurt Prez Bid." "New York Daily News," September 18, 2006, p. 14
- ^ Anita Gates, "Buildings Rise from Rubble while Health Crumbles," "New York Times," September 11, 2006, reporting on the documentary, "Dust to Dust: The Health Effects of 9/11"
- ^ Ben Smith, Rudy's Black Cloud: WTC Health Risks may hurt Prez Bid." "New York Daily News," September 18, 2006, p. 14
- ^ T.W. Farnam, "9/11 responders seek options for care," "Newsday", November 12, 2006 http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-nywtcvr4972450nov12,0,7496420.story?coll=ny-health-print
- ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20060421/ai_n16153072 or Devlin Barrett, "Ground Zero workders seek answers: Autopsy links cop's death to dust," "Chicago Sun-Times," April 21, 2006.
- ^ Dave Goldiner, “Lung illness take an Angel of Ground Zero.” “New York Daily News.” November 3, 2006, p. 4
- ^ Dave Goldiner, “Lung illness take an Angel of Ground Zero.” “New York Daily News.” November 3, 2006, p. 4
[edit] Related links
- Health organizations monitoring the health of first responders and lower Manhattan residents:
- a Center for Disease Control webpage
- Centers for Disease Control press release, First Reports of Health Effects in World Trade Center Rescue and Recovery Workers Find High Rates of Respiratory and Mental Health Problems
- Mount Sinai Hospital's screening program
[edit] External links
- http://healthandenergy.com/ground_zero_air_pollution.htm
- http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/toxiclegacy/ CBC website accompanying documentary, "Toxic Dreams." Includes graphics of 9/11 dust and video interview with the New York Times reporter, Anthony DePalma.
- http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0823-03.htm
- http://www.sierraclub.org/groundzero/
- http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow?pid=120368
- http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/03/11/1538253
- http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/449766p-378571c.html Juan Gonzalez story with archive of older articles
- http://healthresources.caremark.com/topic/wtc
