First responders' representitive:"It's the tip of
the iceberg"
Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Friday, May 9, 2008
New York State health officials have released statistics indicating
that 360 9/11 rescue workers have since died, but have also admitted
that there is an overall undercount.
The New York Daily News reports that of those deaths 154 have been
explained and 80 have died of various forms of cancer, mostly
impacting the lungs and digestive system while others were related
to blood cancers and heart and circulatory diseases.
"It's the tip of the iceberg," said David Worby, who is representing
10,000 workers - 600 with cancer - who say they got sick after
working on rescue and recovery efforts.
"These statistics bear out how toxic that site was," Worby said.
The Statistics were released by the World Trade Center Responder
Fatality Investigation Program.
While insisting the state is "not making judgment" on whether all
the deaths were related to the toxic air around ground zero, which
was filled with asbestos, mercury, lead and other contaminants,
official Kitty Gelberg did say that she believes there to be an
overall undercount of rescuers and workers who have died since 9/11.
In spite of the state's refusal to be drawn on whether there has
been an elevation in deaths due to 9/11, it was revealed back In
2006, almost five years on from the disaster, that there has been a
startling increase in cases of a particular lung scarring disease,
known as sarcoidosis, among firefighters, which rose to five times
the expected rate in the two years after the attacks.
At the time the New York Times reported:
"The most worrisome to medical experts are granulomatous pulmonary
diseases, which show a particular type of swirling marks left on the
lungs by foreign matter like dust. Doctors say the severity of the
disease is often dictated by a patient's genetic makeup. The
diseases include pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis, a sometimes
fatal disorder that can be set off when exposure to dust causes the
body's immune system to attack itself. "
Medical experts have stated that it still may be at least another
decade before the full effects of the attacks are witnessed as
diseases may take longer to develop in some people than others. It
is estimated that around 40,000 people were involved in rescue work
around the World Trade Center site and the Fresh Kills landfill
where debris was taken immediately following the attacks.
The number effected may be significantly more than that however
given that a recent study by Mount Sinai Medical Center revealed
that out of 70,000 participants, 85 percent are suffering some kind
of respiratory problem.
A previous study in 2006 by the medical center also found that of of
9,442 workers, 70% suffer breathing problems. This was also the
figure gleened from a further study in 2007.
Though the center's figures have been criticized and questioned by
some, they are the only real source to go on given that the city,
state and federal governments did not engage in any form of research
into or treatment of 9/11 related illnesses for some time after the
attacks, and still have not set about a truly committed program to
do so.
Dr. Robin Herbert, Co-director of the World Trade Center Medical
Monitoring Program at Mount Sinai has indicated that there may be
three "waves" of illnesses experienced by ground zero workers. The
first wave refers to coughing and respiratory problems, the second
wave includes severe chronic lung diseases and the third wave could
be fatal cancers.
Dr. Michael Baden, chief forensic pathologist for the New York State
Police and the former chief medical examiner of New York City, has
reviewed several ground zero-related autopsies, and has commented
"Three thousand people may have died, but 100,000 others may have
been exposed".
We have extensively reported on the fact that the EPA knowingly gave
misleading information to residents and workers regarding the air
quality in the aftermath of the attacks and how a cover up, which
leads to officials at the very top, has ensued.
The heroes of 9/11 have been shunned by a government that still
refuses cover the costs of healthcare for the vast majority of the
stricken because to do so would be an admission of culpability.
Last month it was reported that some of the heroes who have since
succumbed to dust-related illnesses will be memorialized on the
NYPD's "Wall of Heroes" for officers killed in the line of duty.
Sadly, more space will be needed on that wall in the months and
years to come as the officials ultimately responsible for this
continuing tragedy remain unpunished.