New WTC Health Coordinator to Aid Sick First Responders

March 30, 2006 - In hopes of coordinating all the facts and figures in regards to the health of first responders at the World Trade Center (WTC) attack site, the federal government has appointed a new WTC health coordinator.  Dr. John Howard, Director of the National Institute of Safety and Health, has been awarded the position.

Howard notes that it is his goal to bring together all the cases of those who’ve suffered respiratory problems due to exposure to contaminated air at Ground Zero.  A NY paramedic recently died of mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, and many other first responders are suffering from other respiratory illnesses, such as asbestosis and the famous World Trade Center cough, which has rendered many unable to carry on with their everyday lives.  Currently, several different organizations are monitoring the health of police, fire fighters, and paramedics.  This new office should be able to combine cases to better serve the affected.

Less than five years after the 9/11/2001 attacks, first responders are already being sickened with malignant mesothelioma, a disease which often takes between 10 and 40 years to appear and frequently affects those who’ve spent decades in industries that employ the use of asbestos for insulation and other needs.  The fact that meso is appearing after only a few years has health officials alarmed. 

Early in March 2006, $75 million in federal money was restored for treatment of the 9/11 sick and injured.  Dr. Howard hopes to be meeting with Ground Zero workers shortly to assess the first responder health situation.