Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 Brings Threat Of Mesothelioma, Awareness of Asbestos Exposure

The official opening Sunday of the National 9/11 Memorial on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack at the World Trade Center in New York City is designed to help America remember, but it will also provide some closure for families of those who died. There will be no closure for the illnesses left behind. Although tens of thousands more – first responders, volunteer workers, residents nearby – have been suffering for years from a wide range of physical and psychological ailments related to 9/11, the real death toll from the attack will not be known fully for decades to come. The threat of mesothelioma, the slow-developing cancer caused by an exposure to asbestos, is just beginning. The much-chronicled "World Trade Center Cough," a respiratory ailment that has dogged thousands, could be just the tip of the iceberg. The long-range health problems – cancers like mesothelioma that takes many more years to emerge -- could be even more deadly. The dust cloud that lingered over Lower Manhattan for weeks after the attack was a cocktail of toxic poisons – including an estimated 400 tons of asbestos fibers-- that already have led to hundreds of deaths and could lead to thousands more. Although various studies through the past decade have shown that responders, residents and workers in New York have suffered from respiratory problems stemming from the airborne poisons, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health did not find enough evidence to include cancer a...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Asbestos Exposure & Bans Source Type: news