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Ground Zero Responders Get Some Relief—For Some, It’s Too Late |
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In the days following the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks that brought down the World Trade Center, the Bush administration assured the tens of thousands of first responders and rescue and recovery workers that the air around the smoldering debris “is not a cause for public concern.”
In 2002, President Bush vetoed a bill that included $90 million to monitor the health of rescue and cleanup workers who spent weeks and months at Ground Zero.
Yesterday, after more and more reports revealed that the more than 40,000 rescue and recovery workers were exposed to a deadly atmosphere and are now getting seriously ill and dying, New York Gov. George Pataki (R) signed legislation to make it easier for them and their families to receive health care and other benefits.
The legislation allows all recovery workers who became ill after a two-year deadline expired in 2003 to apply for workers’ compensation benefits—including health benefits. It gives families of uniformed workers who died from illnesses after the attack the same benefits as families of those killed Sept. 11, 2001. It also allows recovery workers who retire from public service and develop Ground-Zero related illnesses to take “disability retirements,” which can provide more generous benefits.
Said Pataki at the signing ceremony:
As it is clear that many champions of 9/11 have developed debilitating illnesses over time, resulting from their selfless acts, these New Yorkers need to know that New York state will not abandon them.
But while the legislation won wide public support, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) opposed it and even urged Pataki to veto the package.
Earlier this month, we told you new studies show that some 12,000 firefighters and emergency medical workers who worked in and around the debris of the Twin Towers are showing rapidly advancing decreases in lung capacity.
No one can say for sure that the workers would be in better health today if they had known the dangers.
But this is what they were told on the days following Sept. 11, 2001.
On Sept. 14, the federal government assured New Yorkers that the air around the World Trade Center debris was safe:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that the majority of air and dust samples monitored in New York’s financial district do not indicate levels of concern for asbestos. The new samples confirm previous reports that ambient air quality meets OSHA standards and consequently is not a case for public concern. New OSHA data also indicates that indoor air quality in downtown buildings will meet standards.
On Sept. 25, this is what another OSHA press release said about the air at Ground Zero:
Test results continue to show no cause for concern in areas immediately surrounding Ground Zero and in public areas.
The agency took its first air and bulk samples on Sept. 13. The monitoring program is continuing, according to Pat Clark, OSHA’s New York regional administrator, and now includes air sampling directly at the debris pile.
“We have taken over 200 air and bulk samples,” Clark said. “Though the levels have been consistently safe, it is important that we continue to make sure the sampling continues through the various stages of the operation.”
It wasn’t revealed until 2003 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.
Just this July, the New York Daily News—in a series of articles exploring the serious health problems of 9/11 rescue and recovery workers—showed that the Bush administration gave then-EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman the right to bury certain EPA documents about chemicals and other hazards by classifying them as secret.
In June, workers rallied near the Trade Center site to demand funding for health care for Ground Zero workers. Many of those at the rally were members of AFSCME District Council 37 (DC 37). Three DC 37 members, paramedics who toiled in the rubble, have died, and the union says their deaths are linked to exposure to asbestos and toxic substances at the site.
Yesterday, the Daily News wrote in an editorial:
The federal and city governments told the 40,000 people who gave their all at Ground Zero that the air was safe to breath. It wasn’t. And now, more than 12,000 are sick, and medical experts predict that even more serious illnesses are soon to show up. At least five responders have died already—and their families have had to fight like hell trying to prove their deaths stemmed from 9/11.
…In this age of terror, it is wrong, counterproductive and unfair to ask first responders to rise to acts of heroism unless they are sure their families will be taken care of in the event that the worst happens.
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