Fallout: 9/11 and the Risk of Ground Zero

The attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11, 2001 obviously had many affects on the life of New Yorkers.  More than 2,500 lives were lost on that day and in the days that followed the attacks.  But now, nearly half a decade later, more WTC casualties are coming to the attention of the general public and the nation’s health officials. 

First responders and New York City residents are dying of mesothelioma and being sickened with other asbestos-related disease.  Doctors and scientists have long predicted that, in years to come, we’d be seeing an onslaught of mesothelioma cases in greater New York City, caused by the tons of asbestos that rained down on fire fighters, police officers, paramedics, and those who lived and worked near the World Trade Center. 

As a matter of fact, those who remained in the city during and after the tragedy will attest to the fact that most of Lower Manhattan was covered with a grayish dust; what’s been reported as a frightening combination of substances such as glass shards, asbestos, fiberglass, pulverized concrete, lead, mercury, cadmium, dioxins, and PCB’s. 

No one truly knows how much asbestos was released into the air that day and during the demolition of the remains of the two towers.  The construction of the World Trade Center was begun before the use of asbestos was banned, so spray-on asbestos fire retardant was used in the lower floors of the towers.  When the use of asbestos was banned in 1971, the towers were not complete so a different insulating material was used for the remaining floors and for the other buildings that made up the WTC complex, which opened in 1973.  However, reports estimate that even though the upper floors used a different fire retardant, approximately 400 tons of asbestos fiber was in the buildings when they collapsed.

Many first responders suffered almost immediate health problems, developing what officials and doctors dubbed “The World Trade Center Cough.”  One study showed that more than 85% of those who initially responded to the tragedy were suffering from some sort of respiratory ailment. 

Those who’ve studied the potential hazard of asbestos caused by the collapse of the World Trade Center estimate that more than 110,000 people may have suffered serious exposure including 80,000 tower workers, 30,000 local residents, and 4,000 first responders.

These same reports show that in the haste to clean up the debris, proper precautions were not taken to protect workers from harm nor were standard and necessary asbestos abatement procedures followed.  This resulted in even more exposure.

If you or a loved one worked in or lived near the towers or was a first responder at the World Trade Center, and you’ve developed mesothelioma or symptoms that point towards the disease, you’ll want to get all the facts.  Send for our free Mesothelioma Information Kit, available from this website.

More Information on the September 11 Attacks and the World Trade Center Buildings:

Asbestos and the World Trade Center

Asbestos Facts and EPA Information

Asbestos Levels and the Government After the Attacks

Statistics

Current World Trade Center Asbestos News:

May 1, 2006 - World Trade Center Search Halted due to Asbestos

March 30, 2006 - New WTC Health Coordinator to Aid Sick First Responders

March 21, 2006 - World Trade Center Paramedic Dies of Mesothelioma

May 30, 2006 - U.S. Asbestos Fund Bill to Include 9/11 Victims

September 6 , 2006 - WTC Workers Still Suffer from Lung Problems

September 21, 2006 - WTC Coroners to Check for Asbestos

October 25, 2006 - Search for Asbestos at WTC Site

January 24, 2007 - Experts Still Debating Link Between 9/11 and Mesothelioma