Health effects arising from the September 11 attacks

Within seconds of the collapse of the World Trade Center in the September 11 attacks, building materials, electronic equipment, and furniture were pulverized and spread over the area of the Financial District of Lower Manhattan.

[5]The dust from the collapsed towers was "wildly toxic", according to air pollution expert and University of California Davis Professor Emeritus Thomas Cahill.

The remainder consisted of more than 2,500 contaminants,[7] more specifically: 50% non-fibrous material and construction debris; 40% glass and other fibers; 9.2% cellulose; and 0.8% of the extremely toxic carcinogen asbestos, as well as detectable amounts of lead and mercury.

[7] A case report funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and performed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine observed carbon nanotubes in dust samples and in the lungs of several 9/11 responders.

A witch’s brew.These toxic exposures have led to debilitating illnesses among rescue, recovery, and cleanup workers, and the pulmonary fibrosis death of NYPD member Cesar Borja.

[17] Dr. Edwin M. Kilbourne, a high level federal scientist, issued a memo on September 12, 2001, to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising against the speedy return to buildings in the area because of possible hazards from various toxic materials.

Dr. Byron Thomashow, medical director of the Center for Chest Disease and Respiratory Failure at New York – Presbyterian/Columbia hospital, said that "The drop-off in lung function initially is really quite significant and doesn't get better.

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Dr. Nathaniel Hupert of Weill Cornell Medical College, quoted by Jill Gardiner of the October 4, 2006, issue of the New York Sun said that premature deaths and other ailments of dogs in the area are "our canary in the coalmine.

[33] There is scientific speculation that exposure to various toxic products and the pollutants in the air surrounding the Towers after the WTC collapse may have negative effects on fetal development.

[37] An ongoing Pennsylvania State University/Monmouth University study reported that respiratory illnesses grew by more than two hundred percent in the year and a half after the September 11 attacks.

[41] On July 12, 2007, Governor Eliot Spitzer extended to August 14, 2008, the filing deadline for worker's compensation claims, for people who worked or volunteered at Ground Zero.

The bill aimed to provide coverage for any illness or death incurred due to the individuals participation in rescue, recovery and cleanup operations related to the attacks.

Kitty Gelberg, New York state Bureau of Occupational Health's chief epidemiologist said, "We're not saying they are all World Trade Center related; we're just saying this is what people are dying from."

The FDNY and NYPD had rotated hundreds, if not thousands, of different personnel from all over New York City to the pile which exposed so many of them to dust that would give them cancer or other diseases years or decades later.

[59] On December 12, 2017, NYPD Captain Douglas Greenwood took his own life after a long battle with lung disease, brought on by deadly chemicals in the air while working alongside other officers at Ground Zero.

[114][115] Hundreds of volunteer firefighters, construction workers, health professionals, clergy, and other individuals descended upon the scene in the days immediately following the attacks.

Among individuals in the latter group, newspaper accounts have cited South Carolinian Episcopal nun, Sister Cindy Mahoney's death as a fatality of Ground Zero illness.

[33] President George W. Bush has been faulted by the Sierra Club for allegedly interfering with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) interpretations and pronouncements regarding air quality.

[124] On September 18, 2001, EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman told the public, via a press release, "We are very encouraged that the results from our monitoring of air-quality and drinking-water conditions in both New York and near the Pentagon show that the public in these areas is not being exposed to excessive levels of asbestos or other harmful substances" and that "Given the scope of the tragedy from last week, I am glad to reassure the people of New York … that their air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink.

"[137] Giuliani, in attempting to deflate New York Daily News journalist Juan Gonzalez' reportage of the 9/11 air issue, claimed that "the problems created… are not health-threatening.

[135] Then-senator Hillary Clinton contemplated calling Giuliani to testify before a Senate committee on whether the government failed to protect recovery workers from the effects of polluted Ground Zero air.

[140][141] Congressman Nadler was quoted in a March 1, 2007, "New York Sun" article saying that he "absolutely" wishes to interview Giuliani administration officials regarding the environment in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

[144] On November 19, 2010, attorneys said that plaintiffs accepted a settlement which should lead to $625 million being paid to more than 10,000 workers experiencing problems as a result of inadequate preparation to work at Ground Zero.

[145] On December 22, 2010, the United States Senate passed a 9/11 Health Bill running against opposition of the Republican Party and aided by advocacy from comedian Jon Stewart.

[146] The measure calls for providing $1.8 billion until 2015 to monitor and treat injuries stemming from exposure to toxic dust and debris at World Trade Center site.

The bill is formally known as the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, named after a New York police detective who took part in the rescue efforts at ground zero and later developed breathing complications.

"[151][152] Dr. John Howard was appointed the medical administrator of the federal World Trade Center Health Program funded through the James Zadroga Act.

Three New York Congressional delegation Representatives, Peter T. King, Carolyn B. Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, said that they believed that further studies would indicate a link between exposures and cancer.

[155] On April 22, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that EPA head Whitman could not be held liable for saying to World Trade Center area residents that the air was safe for breathing after the buildings collapse.