Those who have received an initial medical examination are eligible for follow-up examinations. WTC responders who have not yet participated are encouraged to sign up by calling the Registration Hotline at 212-241-1554.

Unfortunately, the long-term health effects of the WTC rescue-and-recovery work are still largely unknown. While the main focus of the program is to provide you with a clinical evaluation, the information it provides, if candidly examined and fully released to the public, will help us to understand how to address WTC health issues and protect worker health in future emergencies. For that reason, we support the program.

We do not encourage our members to rely on the Mt. Sinai evaluation program as a substitute for getting medical treatment for specific health concerns or symptoms they are experiencing. We urge you to consult your private physicians and advise him/her of your exposure at Ground Zero.If your physician is unaware of the potential health implications, of WTC exposures, provide him/her with the city Health Department protocols and various other studies in the public domain. Much of this information is available on the PBA’s WTC website.

In addition to receiving funding for monitoring the health effects of 9/11 exposures,Mount Sinai and other participating hospitals have received more funding to treat responders suffering from certain 9/11-related illnesses. You may be eligible for treatment under the WTC Health Effects Treatment Program if you provided rescue, recovery, cleanup, or restoration services after the 9/11 attacks, have participated in the monitoring program and are suffering from one of the following illnesses:

Interstitial lung diseases; chronic respiratory disorder-fumes/vapors; asthma; reactive airway dysfunction syndrome (RADS); WTC-exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); chronic cough syndrome; upper airway hyperactivity; chronic rhino sinusitis; chronic nasopharyngitis; chronic laryngitis; gastro-esophageal reflux disorder (GERD); sleep apnea exacerbated by or related to the above conditions.

The WTC Health Effects Treatment Program provides free prescription drugs and lab testing as well as inpatient and outpatient medical procedures.

While we understand that these Programs are not fully addressing our members’ needs and have been the subject of complaints by both this union and its members, we encourage you to participate. Share with us any problems you may have with the program so we can properly communicate those concerns to the individuals in charge of the Program.

If you have any questions, please contact the PBA registry at (212) 298-9162.

The sixth 9/11 anniversary has passed and, unfortunately, we continue to receive reports from members who are suffering from ailments believed to be related to toxic exposures from working on the pile. During the last year, the PBA has spent considerable energy pushing for better treatment of members who are suffering from 9/11-related ailments. Here’s an update on some of the efforts we’ve been expending on behalf of PBA members who served during the WTC crisis, on the information members have been reporting to the PBA WTC Registry and other WTC-health-related developments. Again, we encourage you to call the registry to report any illnesses you and your physicians believe are related to 9/11 exposures.

During the past year, we have appeared before the City Council and other city, state and federal forums and have used our mass media contacts in a concentrated effort to heighten the public’s and the policy makers’ awareness of WTC illnesses.

These efforts have produced results. First, the Mayor reversed his public policy on WTC health issues. He went from being openly incredulous of WTC-illness claims to where now he and his administration openly support federal funding for monitoring, treatment and more favorable policies on this issue. Of course, the administration’s genuine commitment to supporting this cause also should ultimately be judged by its agencies’ and Law Department’s response to members’ claims. On that front, there continues to be far too many obstacles confronting our members, which we will continue to work to alleviate.

Next, after we argued for years that all actions in monitoring and treating our members’ ailments related to WTC exposures are job related and should be assessed and treated on job time, the department recently issued a “Finest” message permitting monitoring, evaluation and treatment on department time.Finally, after we took the position that our sick members should be provided first-rate medical treatment for WTC ailments, the WTC Monitoring and Treatment Program at Mt. Sinai and other sites have received the initial funding for treatment, which is now available to our members.

As you know, the public domain contains little of a detailed and understandable nature summarizing and categorizing the ailments responders are suffering. We’ve been told that the PBA WTC Registry, which is based on members’ reports, has been invaluable to fellow officers and has helped them better understand the symptoms they’re experiencing, fix a possible connection to WTC exposures and obtain the diagnosis and treatment they need to begin addressing their medical problems.

While the information in this database is based on member reports and has not been independently confirmed by medical professionals, we believe it’s useful to summarize the categories into which most reports fell:

218 entries

21 cases of sarcoidosis
11 digestive problems (GERD,Crohn’s, colitis)
64 respiratory problems (asthma, RADS, scarring on lungs, sinusitis, bronchitis)
13 immune blood (red blood cells deficiency, overproduction, high calcium count, mercury in the blood stream)
20 organ failure/dysfunction
8 kidneys
6 heart
3 live
2 gall bladder
1 spleen

35 cases of cancer

14 endocrine system (kidney, thyroid, prostate, bladder, etc.)
9 respiratory/airways (lung, tonsil, throat)
8 digestive (stomach, colon, rectal, liver)
4 other (breast, brain, neck & testicular)

An increased number of respondents have reported symptoms such as:

vertigo
sharp and repetitive headaches
hearing loss, ringing in the ear
blurry vision
vomiting

The World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program provides free, confidential medical monitoring examinations to workers and volunteers who responded to the September 11th attacks in New York City. It has received funding from Congress to provide for additional medical examinations over the next 5 years, in which period responders who participate in the program will receive medical examinations at regular intervals.

As of July 2007, 4,549 of our members have registered in the program and are eligible for exams; 3,358 members have had first medical exams, 880 have had first exams and are due for second exams and 873 have completed their second exams.