Care for 9/11 Heroes
PBA boss says rescue workers need aid now
BY PATRICK J. LYNCH
Apr. 23, 2006 — The scientific debate over whether there's
a direct "causative" link between having worked in the
rescue-and-recovery effort in the months after 9/11 and the illnesses
and deaths that have afflicted many who did can, in itself, be a
deadly sideshow.
By all means, let the dialogue and scientific inquiries continue
— by most estimates it could be 20 years before we know the
answers. But, in the meantime, we should proceed as if working at
the Ground Zero site, the Staten Island landfill and the morgue
was dangerous to all who experienced it. The duties at these sites
were certainly sickening to many and — as becoming increasingly
evident — fatal for an untold and rising number.
The only sensible and humane thing to do is to act decisively according
to these assumptions. While we waste time arguing the fine points,
police officers and other responders are suffering serious illnesses
and losing their lives because of their selfless devotion in the
wake of the most deadly enemy attack on American soil.
The most recent example attracting widespread attention is the
case of 34-year-old NYPD detective James Zadroga, who died on Jan.
5 of respiratory failure and whose autopsy report by the Ocean County,
N.J. medical examiner found "with a reasonable degree of medical
certainty" that the death was "directly related to the
9/11 incident."
"I cannot personally understand that anyone could see what
I saw in the lungs and know that the person was exposed to Ground
Zero and not make the same link I made," said Dr. Gerard Breton,
who performed the autopsy.
And Zadroga is just one of many potential victims. Obviously we
can't wait for a lengthy scientific investigation before implementing
measures to protect these and other potential victims. Officials
need to:
 Appoint
a czar to oversee all existing programs addressing 9/11 health issues.
The appointment in February of a coordinator to oversee the federal
response to these health impacts doesn't go far enough. Since the
World Trade Center attacks, hundreds of millions of dollars in federal
and private funds have been earmarked to deal with the problem,
but while these funds are administered by well-intentioned professionals,
appointing a completely independent medical professional with broad
powers as overseer of all these sources would mean more efficient
coordination and would reduce redundancies, freeing up resources.
With
extra resources, provide more expansive and effective monitoring
and diagnostic procedures. The blood screenings, standard blood-pressure
readings and other methods currently being employed are inadequate
diagnostic tools in this age of advanced medical technologies and
in the wake of so unique an event as 9/11.
Do
a better job of disseminating information gathered by the various
programs dealing with these health issues. Reams of paper have been
filled out by responders, but very little of a comprehensive nature
has been published. Share the information with all those who may
be affected, not to create panic but to save lives.
Provide
the best treatment available for those who have become ill.
All costs for these measures should be borne by the public and
the private sectors and through charitable funds set up for 9/11,
not by the modestly compensated police officers, firefighters and
other responders now suffering for their altruistic dedication at
Ground Zero.
We cannot wait for another first responder to die before something
is done. These measures must be implemented immediately. It's a
matter of life and death.
Lynch is president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.
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