New York firefighters who worked at ground zero in 2001 were 19 percent more likely to develop cancer than firefighters who were not exposed to the hazardous conditions at the World Trade Center site, according to a new study in the British medical journal The Lancet.
Researchers said the findings should be interpreted cautiously because many cancers such as mesothelioma, a respiratory cancer linked to asbestos, take decades to show symptoms. Cancer is not listed so far among the illnesses covered by the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which provides $4.3 million to monitor, treat and compensate people suffering health problems associated with the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Still, the study offers the strongest evidence to date of an association between working at ground zero and cancer, according to The New York Times. Ground zero workers may have a significant cancer risk. More than 50,000 workers were exposed while responding after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Released as the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, the study analyzed cancer incidence specifically among nearly 10,000 male NYC firefighters from 2001 through 2008. Many of the firefighters, other rescue personnel and volunteers were exposed to the toxic stew of smoke and burning debris after the World Trade Centers collapsed. Of the overall study group, researchers classified 8,927 firefighters as exposed to ground zero hazards such as asbestos, smoke, toxic dust and other carcinogens.
Researchers compared the rates of cancer among the exposed firefighters and firefighters who were not at ground zero. They found 263 cases of cancer among the exposed firefighters, reflecting a cancer rate 19 percent higher than in the group not exposed. The cancer rate among the exposed firefighters was 10 percent higher than American men overall.
Dr. James Melius, administrator of the New York State Laborers’ Health and Safety Trust Fund, said the study was not definitive, but provided information that there may be a significant cancer risk for New York firefighters exposed at Ground Zero.
The study was supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Approximately 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year, a cancer of the lining of the lung and abdomen associated with inhaling asbestos. For many, asbestos exposure was an occupational hazard of their job. Symptoms of mesothelioma typically take 20 to 50 years to appear.
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