by Mike Hall, Aug 2, 2006

The health news for the emergency workers—firefighters, paramedics and police officers—who worked in the rubble of the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks continues to grow grimmer.

A new study shows the nearly 12,000 firefighters and emergency medical workers who took part in the ground zero rescue and recovery operations experienced such severe trauma to their lungs that their lungs aged the equivalent of 12 years in the year following the attack—putting them at risk for chronic lung problems later in life.

Tests on the emergency workers show that in the year after the attacks their lung capacity declined to a point that doctors say would normally take 12 years of aging to reach.

The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, identified some 400 chemicals mixed together in the toxic dust and dirt stew at ground zero.

But immediately after the attacks, then-Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Christine Todd Whitman assured the public the site was safe. It was revealed last week the Bush administration gave Whitman the right to bury embarrassing EPA documents about the chemicals and other hazards by classifying them as secret.

The study says 50 percent of the ground zero emergency workers report cases of what’s called “World Trade Center cough”; 42 percent experience shortness of breath when exercising; 24 percent have wheezing problems; and 21 percent experience chest pain or tightness.

The study’s authors say they are conducting examinations to determine if the workers’ lung functions continue to deteriorate and if the reported pulmonary health problems have worsened.

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 June, hundreds of union members and their allies rallied at ground zero 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.

Meanwhile, the New York Daily News recently published a series detailing the health suffering of the World Trade Center emergency workers.

The magnitude of the epidemic has worsened for five years as every level of government has failed to face the reality of what happens when large numbers of people without proper respiratory protection are exposed for long periods to air thick with toxic substances.

Responsibility runs from the federal government, where then-Environmental Protection Administrator Christie Whitman falsely assured 9/11 responders that the air was safe, to the New York State Health Department, which abandoned a program designed to monitor the health of 9,800 state and National Guard personnel, to the New York City Health Department, which has yet to issue treatment guidelines for physicians.

Jordan Barab at Confined Space excerpts much of the series and adds his own comments.

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