9/11 Has Put Half a Million People at Increased Risk of Cancer

The heroes of the September 11th terrorist attacks, rightly, are the first responders. They risked their lives to save others. Over 300 firefighters lost their lives trapped in the crumbling towers, and a total of 2,977 people died. The human cost of the attacks was immense, but the suffering did not stop on September 12th.

In an interview with Michael Barasch, the managing partner of Barasch and McGarry, he revealed that close to half a million people may have been adversely affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. After the World Trade Center crumbled, first responders, “firefighters, cops, sanitation workers, construction workers, debris removal truckers, EMTs,” remained busy at work looking for survivors and clearing debris from the scene. What wasn’t fully understood at the time was the danger all of them were still in.

For days a dust cloud from the wreckage of the World Trade Center hovered over Manhattan. Laced throughout it were harmful particles and known carcinogens. As the first responders worked tirelessly, they unknowingly inhaled toxins.

“As the days, and weeks, and months... followed, a lot of the guys kept coughing, and in fact, the fire department dubbed it the ‘World Trade Center cough.’”

Coughs that wouldn’t go away were just a symptom of once healthy individuals becoming chronically ill with cancer. The September 11th terrorist attacks set off a domino effect of death and despair. A passenger plane was weaponized to kill thousands, a collapsing building killed even more, and, just as everything appeared safe, the dust from the building enveloped the area, endangering hundreds of thousands.

Manhattan, for all intents and purposes, had been hit by a biological agent. Special precautions were needed. Offices, schools, and homes needed to be shuttered until the situation was resolved. Yet, the government declared it was safe. No special precautions were taken. People went back to work. Children back to school. The most deadly terrorist attack in US history was adding thousands of unnecessary victims.

It took the US government nearly a decade to right their wrongs. On January 2nd, 2011, President Barack Obama signed the World Trade Center Health Fund into law. The fund, as described by Michael Barasch, provides free health care for life for those suffering from one of 68 9/11 linked cancers and up to $250,000 payouts. Due to the nature of many of the 9/11 linked cancers, there are likely hundreds of thousands of people who haven’t yet, but will, develop adverse health effects from their close proximity to Ground Zero in the days after the attack.

Approximately 300,000 office workers were likely exposed to toxins. Many people might have already died or suffered through cancer treatments and not even realized it was linked to 9/11. In 2015, the World Trade Center Health Fund was extended to 2090. The death caused by 9/11 didn’t end on September 12th, 2001. Even 20 years later, people are still paying the price.