Asbestos Diseases Still Looming After 9/11 Attacks

Thoracic surgeon Dr. Raja Flores believes an alarming number of asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma, will start emerging soon in New York City, stemming from rescue and cleanup efforts after the historic 9/11 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center 14 years ago. He compared it to Libby, Montana, where hundreds of miners, family members and nearby residents have died or been sickened by the asbestos dust pouring from vermiculite mines decades ago. "I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so," Flores, chief of thoracic surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, told Asbestos.com. "We've seen a little of it so far, but I think we've just scratched the surface. You're going to start seeing a lot of these cases in the future." Flores has been treating asbestos diseases for more than 20 years, specializing in malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer and esophageal cancer. He expects a spike in each of those soon, caused by the toxic cloud of carcinogenic materials that hovered for months over the area where the Twin Towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001. Asbestos diseases like mesothelioma typically have a long latency period (15-40 years) between exposure and obvious symptoms. "We still need a little more time. Between 15 and 20 years out, we'll start seeing it in individuals one-by-one, but by 25 years out, it will be real obvious what has happened," he said. "Again, I hope I'm wrong, but I think I know how this is going to turn out." Flores has sounded the alarm at...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Legislation, Laws & Litigation Source Type: news