First responders9/11 first responders face three times the cancer rate

A new study found that 9/11 first responders have been diagnosed with cancer-related illnesses at three times the rate of unexposed workers.

According to statistics from the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, of the 12,000 police officers that responded to the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York, 297 have been diagnosed with cancer-related disabilities.  The average age of diagnosis is forty-four and lung cancer is the most common type of ailment.

The latest data adds to the mounting evidence that the toxic dust and debris from the crumbling World Trade Center is wreaking havoc on first responders’ health. On the tenth anniversary of the attacks, the Fire Department of the City of New York released data that found firefighters who exposed themselves to Ground Zero toxins were 19 percent more likely to develop cancer than those who were not exposed.

After years of pressuring Congress, lawmakers finally passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act last year. The bill helps provide healthcare coverage for first responders who got sick after being exposed to the debris at Ground Zero.

Unfortunately, cancer is not covered by the Zadroga bill due to its high cost of treatment, but Sheila Birnbaum, who oversees the 9/11 health fund, encouraged Ground Zero first responders with health problems to seek treatment from the foundation regardless.

“We have laid the foundation for a claims-processing system that we believe will be fair, transparent and easy to navigate,” Birnbaum said. “With full funding now available, I am confident that we will be able to complete the necessary infrastructure for a streamlined, automated claims process in a timely.”