by Mike Hall, Sep 6, 2006

The health news for the 40,000 rescue and recovery workers who responded to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center grows grimmer and grimmer. A new study by doctors at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City finds nearly 70 percent of firefighters, police officers, emergency medical crews, construction workers, utility workers and volunteers have suffered lung and other health problems.

The report outlines a “complex list of toxic chemicals”—from jet fuel to asbestos to PCBs—that workers were exposed to immediately after the attacks and during the months-long cleanup.

Dr. Robin Herbert, co-director of the group that investigated the long-term effects from exposure to dust at the site, says:

There should no longer be any doubt about the health effects of the World Trade Center. Our patients are sick and will need ongoing health monitoring and treatment for the rest of their lives.

The study finds nearly 70 percent of the responders had new or worsened lung symptoms after the attacks and 61 percent of those who had no health problems before exposure to the toxic rubble and debris developed lung problems. It also finds one in five responders had low lung capacity—five time the normal rate. The findings are based on thorough medical examinations of more than 9,000 of the 40,000 workers.

We’ve reported how the Bush administration sought to cover up the toxic and chemical hazards workers faced at ground zero, including how Bush officials pressured the Environmental Protection Agency to tone down reports about the potential health hazards resulting from the buildings’ collapse.

On Sept. 14, 2001, the Bush administration assured New Yorkers the air in proximity to the World Trade Center debris was safe.

Says Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.):

Our government was not telling us the truth, The air was not safe to breathe. It was obvious that the air was hard to see through, let alone breathe. 

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