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A Ground-Zero
responding police officer who developed cancer or a
blood disease needs medical testimony that can say
with “scientific certainty” that the WTC exposure “is
substantially likely to be a significant factor in
aggravating, contributing to, or causing the illness or
health condition.” It’s a standard that will make it
much more difficult and in some cases impossible for
the forgotten victims of 9/11 to get the health-care
treatment they so desperately need.
And while a prelude to the bill mentions the word “cancer” as needing further research, it bears repeating that the law that Congress will vote on does not provide for treatment of cancers or blood disorders, while it contains specific language for treating less dire, non-9/11-related ailments like carpal tunnel syndrome.
It’s been scientifically documented that 9/11 and its aftermath produced the highest level of carcinogenic toxins concentrated in one location for the longest time in history. How can any physician say with any certainty what kind of plague resulted from such unprecedented exposure? The superheated conditions actually created compounds never identified before. How, then, can a doctor conclude what is “substantially likely” or a “significant factor” in such a context?
In May 2007, a New England Journal of Medicine report called “The Legacy of World Trade Center Dust” found high levels of cancer-causing materials in both WTC dust and the filters of respirators used on the site: “Analysis of settled dust samples revealed the presence of combustion-related carcinogens, building materials and some asbestos.”
In 2003, Science Daily described Ground Zero as a “chemical factory” that “cooked together the components of the buildings and their contents, including enormous numbers of computers, and gave off gases of toxic metals, acids and organics for at least six weeks.”
Renowned physicist and research professor Dr. Thomas Cahill has identified four classes of particles at Ground Zero known to be harmful to humans, including carcinogens. “For each of these classes of pollutants,” Cahill said, “we recorded the highest levels we have ever seen in over 7,000 measurements we have made of very fine air pollution throughout the world...”
Cancer specialist Dr. David Ozonoff has drawn a parallel between the aftermaths of Hiroshima- Nagasaki and Ground Zero. In Japan, leukemia rates shot up within five years of the nuclear explosions, followed by spikes in breast and lung cancers. He and other cancer experts foresee a possible similar increase in cancers following the WTC attacks.
As PBA research director Frank Tramontano pointed out in testimony before a City Council hearing considering a resolution in support of the bill, the state law establishing a presumption that cancers and other ailments suffered by Ground- Zero first-responders is 9/11-related is a much more equitable piece of legislation. State legislators realized back in 2005 that cancers and blood disorders were going to develop and included them as qualifying for an accident disability.
Another problem with the Zadroga bill, Tramontano told the Council committee, is that police officers and firefighters must use their own medical insurance to treat cancers before and even after being approved for an accident disability. It’s true before being approved because the city is not providing line-of-duty-injury status to cancer victims, and after because, unlike civilians who get free medical treatment after being awarded an accident disability, police officers and firefighters are not covered by Workers Compensation insurance. Most medical plans have co-payments plus yearly and lifetime spending limits.
Adding cancer to the Zadroga bill would correct this injustice to the forgotten victims of 9/11 and atone for the insult to James Zadroga’s memory.