by Mike Hall, Jun 16, 2006

Hundreds will rally tomorrow for Ground Zero emergency and rescue and recovery workers at the World Trade Center site in New York City to demand funding for the long-term health needs of workers who are suffering from serious ailments linked to their Ground Zero work following Sept. 11. (Click here for time and location.)

They will be joined by family members whose loved ones worked at Ground Zero and later died from what family members believe are the long-term effects of their exposure to the toxic atmosphere in the days and weeks after terrorist attacks—a poisonous atmosphere that the Bush administration played down in the days after the attack.

Federal and state lawmakers, union leaders and others will speak out for a solid commitment to fund long-term health monitoring and treatment for the thousands of workers who answered the call to help in the rescue and recovery efforts.

Last month, news reports documented the growing rate of serious illnesses, especially lung ailments, among those who worked in the chemical stew of the collapsed 110-story towers and surrounding buildings. A study co-authored by the New York City Fire Department found more than 400 chemicals in the air during the World Trade Center cleanup and an alarming reduction in lung capacity among firefighters who worked at Ground Zero.

Three AFSCME District Council 37 (DC 37) members, paramedics who toiled in the World Trade Center rubble, have died and the union believes their deaths are linked to their exposure to asbestos and toxic substances at the site.

Immediately after the attacks, then-Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christine Todd Whitman assured the public the site was safe, according to Democracy Now. A little more than a year ago, President Bush vetoed a bill that included $90 million to monitor the health of rescue and cleanup workers who were at Ground Zero.

In 2003, it was revealed that just days after the Sept. 11 tragedy, the Bush White House pressured the EPA to tone down reports about the potential health hazards resulting from the buildings’ collapse.

The event is sponsored by the New York State AFL-CIO, the New York City Central Labor Council, DC 37, the Sierra Club ands several other labor health and environmental groups.

Print This Article | E-Mail This Article | Comments (0)