When the planes crashed into New York City’s World Trade Center, causing their eventual collapse, a cloud of toxic dust settled over Manhattan. Asbestos was just one of many chemical hazards that could be found floating in the air. This dangerous mineral fiber was used to manufacture a wide variety of construction materials throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and prolonged exposure causes such fatal diseases as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the protective lining of the lungs, heart, chest and abdomen.
Chief Medical Officer of the Bureau of Health Services compiled a post-9/11 report that noted that 99% of all responding firefighters have since reported at least one respiratory illness related to working at ground zero. Plus New York residents have also seen an increase in respiratory issues since the attacks. Only 10 years later has the US government responded to treating 9/11 first responders by finally passing the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Law.
Although the Zadroga bill should provide first responders with free and much needed treatment, which in the case of malignant mesothelioma, involves several rounds of surgery and chemotherapy or radiation. However, many first responders across the country don’t believe that the heroes of 9/11 will ever see a cent to cover their growing medical costs, as the government now wants first responders to prove that their cancer was caused by working at ground zero.
The report was the first periodic review since President Obama signed the bill into law in January, yet it did not allow for cancer treatment coverage. Another review will take place months from now, and no one knows whether cancer coverage will finally be included at that point.
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