Now, six years after the disaster, huge numbers of First Responders, plus their fellow exposed New Yorkers are grievously ill. Afflictions range from chronic bronchial disease to asbestosis, leukemia and cancers, plus a host of other diseases including systemic organ failure for which the etiology remains unidentified. As of December 2008, 713 WTC workers have died; an estimated 70% of the 70,000-plus First Responders have declared illnesses; it is estimated that 410,000 people have been ‘heavily exposed’ to WTC toxins (includes Responders), and may become seriously ill in the future.
Federal response has been inadequate at best. The sole major relief fund to date, the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, was designed largely to provide compensation to the families of individuals who perished or were injured on the day of or immediately following the attacks. In spite of the fund’s existence, it has provided relief to only a small fraction of the total number of victims. It has also been criticized because:
•It excludes First Responders who arrived later than 96 hours after the attacks. This is clearly insufficient, given that recovery and cleanup of Ground Zero was over a period of several months, involving tens of thousands of individuals.
•The fund excludes all individuals who became ill later than the designated December 22, 2003 filing date, and is thus useless to victims whose illnesses have a gestation time beyond the 12.22.03 deadline.
•The fund provides no compensation for the over 300,000 residents and workers of Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the adjacent areas who were exposed to toxins in their residences, offices, jobsites or schools.
•The fund obliges victims to sign waivers forfeiting their rights to file lawsuits against the airlines or government if fund money is collected.
•That every 9/11 responder exposed to the toxins of Ground Zero and related sites has a right to be medically monitored.
•That every 9/11 responder who is sick as a result of exposure has a right to treatment.
•That care is expanded to the exposed community, including residents, area workers, students, and the thousands of people who came from across the country in response to the 9/11 attacks.
•That the 9/11 Victim’s Compensation Fund would be reopened to provide compensation for economic loss and damages.
•Continued funding and support of the ‘Centers of Excellence’ (the FDNY, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Belleview Hospital, Queens College, SUNY Stony Brook and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) which currently provide monitoring, support and care to First Responders.
•The establishment of a Research and Support program by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services for the diagnosis and treatment of WTC-related conditions and diseases.
In addition to the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, 9/11 Health Now and other 9/11 groups request the following:
•Accelerated FDA approval for all therapeutics in development that show promise in the treatment of 9/11-related illnesses.
•CDC (Centers for Disease Control) Funding for epidemiological studies on 9/11-related illnesses.
•NIH (National Institutes of Health) Funding to develop a clinical research network specifically for 9/11-related illnesses.
•A Pension Fund for 9/11victims and their families.
•An Emergency Relief Fund to address the urgent financial situation of the 9/11 victims.
•Intervention and Outreach Programs that actively address the practical, medical and sociological needs of 9/11 victims.
•A Superfund for the cleanup and detoxification of Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and any surrounding areas affected by 9/11 toxins.
•An accelerated protocol within Congress that would immediately put the above into legislation, along with the passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
Claire Calladine
David Miller
Co-Founders 9/11 Health Now
