By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
The 9/11 terrorist attack on New York City continues to affect the lives of many, especially those first responders who dared the situation and served with courage and Honor.
The tragedy manifests in manners that are beyond the emotional scars that might remain with individuals. The health effects to the body may persist for many more years. Inhaling of and exposure to toxins and carcinogens in their various forms continue to haunt the New York Police Department and other agencies more than a decade later.
According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a website devoted to memorializing the line-of-duty deaths of all law enforcement officers serving in the United States and its territories, 9/11 related illnesses are the second leading cause of death among officers of the New York Police Department. This encompasses over two hundred years of records for each of the various single categories.
The memorials include all the former agencies either merged or formed into the NYPD. The leading cause of death for NYPD and its predecessors is gunfire at 324. 9/11 Related Illnesses were second at 71. The Terror Attack itself caused 24 direct fatalities among NYPD. These statistics do not include other agencies such as ATF which also has 9/11 related illness deaths.
More distressingly, since the first reported 9/11 Related Illness death on May 3rd, 2003 the number of these deaths is over three times the number of all other causes of death combined: 71 compared with 20. From that date forward, 9/11 Related Illnesses is the leading cause of death and likely could be into the near future.
Conditions affecting 9/11 first responders and rescue workers include Pulmonary Fibrosis, Cancers, Multiple Myeloma, and other ailments.
New York’s Finest and Bravest made sacrifices in devoting days, weeks, and months in recovery duties to return loved ones or remains back to their families after the collapse of the twin towers. And for their service some have given their lives and more continue to suffer from their injuries. They should be Honored and remembered.
By Darren Smith
Source: The Officer Down Memorial Page
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.
I should add that the emergency response teams from my organization were in NYC in less than 24 hours and they did not have all the appropriate gear, albeit some of it, but they still went. Our mobile communications capabilities were turned over to the FDNY and were used for the duration, with our people assisting. Fortunately, I was not one of the members of that quick response team…but I doubt I’d have shirked if appointed rather than designated as one of guys who organized the response. We moved fast..too fast to have time to ponder the potentials of the situation. The guys (and women) who were there didn’t take the time to react in fear either. Bless them all…and the dog teams especially, almost none of them had the necessary protection gear, but in they went.
Personanongrata … I agree with your summary. But I still stand by what I said to Karen S above. The results, however distant in time, are not unidentifiable when multiple infirmities pop up for those in the danger zone.
The frauds are also easily identified by their lack of simultaneous afflictions … as I mentioned I’ve been exposed to everything the NYC folks were, rescuers and residents, and did not have subsequent afflictions…in fact my cancer was distinctly not asbestos related. I credit safe procedures for that luck…and on 9/11 there just wasn’t enough safety gear for everyone, even for those who sought it. For all the individuals , all the cops, and all the FDNY who went up the down staircases, knowing they didn’t have everything they needed was raw courage in the face of threats they knew about or didn’t know about, they just went where most of us wouldn’t go.
I have to respect that as much as I do Soldiers & Marines who expose themselves to enemy fire to save another soldier, especially the Corpsmen and Medics. I really doubt, vet that I am, that I could have shown such unselfish courage as that regular as clockwork grit shown by the Medics and Corpsmen. Those men and women are a breed apart, especially the “PJ’s” of the USAF.
There were a myriad of problems that together have contributed to higher incidences of illness associated with the search, rescue and clean up of World Trade Center buildings 1, 2 and 3:
The biggest problem faced by rescue/clean up personnel was the lack of personnel protective gear (eg proper fitting whole face respirators with correct filter elements), the lack of clearly designated personnel protective gear donning/doffing work areas (eg some personnel were wearing respirators while others in the same area were not), the lack of clean areas for workers to remove clothing/gear contaminated with toxic debris before they left the work site.
Also playing a huge part were the lies put forth by the Environmental Protection Agency in regard to air quality and presence of toxins found in local air particulate sampling done in the days and months following the attacks.
EPA scientist Dr. Cate Jenkins said on CBS television on September 8, 2006 that agency officials lied about the air quality in the weeks following September 11, 2001. She said that in her opinion the EPA knew about the toxicity of the air, and that WTC dust included asbestos and disturbingly high PH levels. She said that some of the dust was “as caustic and alkaline as Drano.”[36] Dr. Marjorie Clarke also warned of the consequences of breathing toxic dust and fumes. Yet, agencies did not heed her warnings.[37]
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation conducted a study of the World Trade Center site, but refused to release the results of its study, saying they were part of a criminal investigation.[38]
On September 13, 2006, Congressmen Jerrold Nadler (NY), Anthony Weiner (NY), Bill Pascrell Jr. (NJ) filed a request with US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to investigate whether criminal charges may be brought against Whitman for lying about air safety in the Ground Zero area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_arising_from_the_September_11_attacks
In short the rescue/clean up personnel and residents of lower Manhattan were sacrificed in the name of political expediency.
Intense dust cloud exposure on 9/11 increased the risk of developing asthma. These groups were especially at risk:
Rescue, recovery and clean-up workers who arrived early at the WTC site or worked at the WTC site for long periods of time
Lower Manhattan residents who didn’t evacuate their homes
Lower Manhattan residents and office workers who returned to homes or workplaces covered with a thick coating of dust
People who both lived and worked in lower Manhattan after 9/11
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/wtc/html/know/know.shtml
It isn’t just the rescue/clean up workers that have suffered and continue to suffer the deleterious effects of the toxic dust.
The citizens of lower Manhattan have suffered and continue to suffer right along with them and this should never be forgotten.
Dang it…I’ve just broken my rule of not responding to trolls. I shall go sit in the corner for a while…that was a dunce move. 🙁
Bill McW …oddly you seem to give Mr Cheney more credit for skills than I do, if you’ve read anything I’ve said on the subject. BTW…does calling President G. W. Bush “Boosh” cause a tingle down your leg? 🙂
Bill McW … nice 90 degree off topic diversion you posted there. Doesn’t all that “truther” stuff wear on you from time to time? Yessir, keep on truckin’ as they say.