9/11 Victims Still Suffer from Toxic Dust Injuries

Here's a deeply moving essay from across the pond (UK) about 9/11. Devasting side effects of toxic dust are still negatively impacting thousands of victims who are fighting for compensation and their lives.

These victims include office workers, shopkeepers, students and local residents – but the worst-affected are the emergency service, recovery and volunteer aid workers who were exposed to the site at close quarters. These people went to help – and are paying with their lives.

The New York City Department of Health has already recorded 817 deaths of World Trade Center responders from illnesses generated by working on the site. But as well as the official figures, there are currently another 20,000 recorded sick by the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Treatment and Environmental programs.

On 9/11 the dust from the pulverized towers was thick and far-reaching. The cancer causing dust contained chemicals including asbestos, lead, dioxin and deadly PVCs, mercury, plus emissions from more than 200,000 gallons of diesel fuel smoldering underneath the site.

In the urgency of rescuing survivors from the rubble, crucial safety procedures seem to have been overlooked and conflicting instructions given by the authorities. People were operating without the correct protective clothing. Rescue teams were provided with paper masks that became clogged.

People worked zealously to clean up. About 70 percent of emergency service workers have been diagnosed with serious respiratory problems as a result of their involvement with Ground Zero. And the real scandal is that post-disaster health care has been so badly neglected that there is barely any provision for them.