Toxic Dust and the Lasting Health Effects of 9/11

Esther Regelson was at her apartment on September 11, 2001, when the World Trade Center collapsed. Living only 2 blocks south of WTC she experienced the impact of the spewing dust filled with hundreds of carcinogenic substances, which included jet fuel, asbestos, lead, mercury, and fibrous gas.

Esther started experiencing breathing difficulties several months after the attacks. She had been living with asthma since childhood, but this felt different.

While visiting a clinic it was found that she only had a 49% lung capacity. “They were saying it was unheard of that I was as functional as I was,” she reported.

Regelson, who still lives in the same apartment 15 years later, also dealt with acid reflux and had bouts of chronic bronchitis for a while. She’s not the only one suffering with these conditions.

Anyone responding to the attack and living in the area was exposed to a high level of carcinogenic substances.

Marcy Borders, known for her iconic photo (shown above) where she was covered in dust after the attack, died of stomach cancer in August 2015. She was one of thousands who have reported cancer cases linked with the aftermath of the terror attacks.

The effects of the toxic dust left on the responders and survivors are still being felt 15 years later, with health conditions, including cancer, seemingly linked to the 2001 attack.

World Trade Center Health Program

The World Trade Center Health Program was put into effect in 2011, and renewed in 2015 as part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. This federal program is in place to help those living with conditions that have a connection to 9/11, and it covers everything from trauma-related injuries to disorders related to breathing and digestion, to mental health conditions, to a long list of more than 50 cancers that have been connected to the dust and rubble of 9/11.

Two groups are covered, the survivors, people who lived, studied or worked in the area who were downtown that day, and the responders. Firefighters, police officers, construction workers, and others who came to help.

Before the program people were incurring massive medical debts dealing with their 9/11 related illnesses, fortunately now they don’t have to pay anything, but it’s not always easy linking survivors (residents in particular) to care.

”Unfortunately a lot of people who live and work in this neighbourhood don’t put two and two together. They don’t realise the program is for them - it’s not just for first responders not getting help” Regelson said.

As of June, 75,000 people were registered into program, and approximately 10,000 were residents living around the area at the time of the attacks.

”There are a lot of people who should be in this program who are not. That’s because they moved on,” Kimberly Flynn, Director of the 9/11 Environmental Action group.

Proving the Link between Health Conditions and 9/11

Researchers are still trying to pin down the association between cancer, respiratory problems, and other conditions, which can be hard to prove because the events of one day are just one factor of many.

The American Medical Association looked at 55,000 New Yorkers that had enrolled in the program. That study found that for cancer, “no significant associations were observed with intensity of World Trade Center exposures,” though more time was needed for cancers that more time to show up. They also stated, “the presence of carcinogenic agents raises the possibility that exposure to the WTC environment could eventually lead to cancers.”

However, the World Trade Center Health Program has a different criteria for what can be linked to 9/11, but still requires some proof or a pattern. People with health conditions that could possibly relate to 9/11 and haven’t had a proven link may not get the care that they need, as it can take a while to get a condition added to the health program.

“It’s essential that it exists. It provides expert care for a wide range of conditions. But people are still getting sick with conditions that may not be added for some time because there’s not sufficient evidence.” Kimberly Flynn

A few hundred more responders and survivors are joining each month, hopefully by monitoring this group doctors and health officials can get a better idea of what’s to come for those exposed to the toxic dust of 9/11. For example, cancers might start to become more frequent in a few years.

The World Trade Center Health Program will be in place until 2090.