Toxic Perfect Storm & Ground Zero Walking Wounded

by **StarmanSkye** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:34 pm

57 already dead, thousands at-risk for life-threatening diseases from their exposure to poisons and dangerous fumes and toxic particles, while city officials deny responsibility and hope to derail a class-action suit alleging lack of safeguards and false assurances of air-quality safety at New York's WTC Ground Zero. Recall, initial EPA alerts were rewritten following strong White House objection, fearing that Wall Street and the city's economy would be damaged by public concern that the air was unsafe. Later, following criticism for not having accurately warned the public about health risks, the EPA director resigned, all the while claiming the agency did EVERYTHING it could to protect the public. But if everything was done, thousands of people would have been rigorously protected with stringent health-requirements and toxic safeguards -- which they weren't. For instance -- everyone should have been required to wear protective clothing and active face-mask filtration systems, with clean wash-up decontamination showers and clothing-change facilities provided, and a registry of workers maintained throughout the 8-months of rescue, clean-up and salvage operations. Bad, irresponsible, reckless and incompetant government reveals its pasty-face once again. Starman ****** <a href="http://www.nycosh.org">www.nycosh.org</a> NYCOSH Newswatch * Health Troubles Persist for 9/11 Rescue Workers - USA Today, June 26, 2006 * PBA Blasts Hosp's 9/11 Health Monitoring - New York Post, June 25, 2006 * Police Union Plans WTC Health Registry - Associated Press, June 25, 2006 * Lawsuit Says Poisons Killed 57 at WTC Site - Daily News, June 23, 2006 USA Today - June 26, 2006 <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-06-25-911-health-usat_x.htm">www.usatoday.com/news/hea...usat_x.htm</a> Health Troubles Persist for 9/11 Rescue Workers By Stephanie Armour It was late in the night when James Zadroga, sleeping beside his 4-year-old daughter, woke up to fetch her some milk. It was no easy errand: The former New York City police detective's lungs were so scarred that he needed supplemental oxygen to breathe. In 2001, after the attack on the World Trade Center, he'd donned a paper mask and toiled at Ground Zero on rescue and recovery missions. Then he developed a cough and damaged lungs. Four years later, the 34-year-old was dying. Sometime in that January night, Zadroga fell to the bedroom floor. At dawn, his father came into the room and found him, then gently woke the girl to tell her that Zadroga was dead. Her bottle was still in his hand. "I told her that her daddy has passed and she cried, 'No, no, he's just sleeping, he just got up to get me a bottle,' " says Joseph Zadroga, of Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J., who is now raising his granddaughter, Tyler Ann. Her mother died two years earlier. An autopsy done by a New Jersey coroner attributed James' death to dust from Ground Zero. He had never been a smoker and had no previous respiratory problems. "No one should have to go through this," his father says. Nearly five years after the terrorist attack, thousands of workers who toiled at the World Trade Center site continue to experience health problems, according to doctors at Mount Sinai Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine in New York. Zadroga's death - the first death linked by an autopsy to toxins at the site - has galvanized union leaders and politicians such as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., to call for more aid and investigation. Concern over ongoing ailments plaguing World Trade Center workers is also leading to accusations that federal safety oversight at Ground Zero was lax - a charge that federal officials vigorously deny. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials said in a statement issued to USA TODAY in May that they responded immediately as events unfolded, with the highest priority being to protect the environment and health of the people of New York. The agency took more than 10,000 samples of air, water and dust, which yielded more than a quarter of a million results, and worked with other federal agencies to caution that workers should wear protective gear. Officials acknowledge that some workers from the site now are ill. A class-action lawsuit has been filed alleging that the agency made false reassurances about the air quality at the site. No trial date has been set. "The EPA said there was no danger, but this was the perfect storm of environmental toxins, and now we're paying the price," says Thomas Cahill, an air pollution expert and professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis, who studied the air quality around Ground Zero. "It was wildly toxic, and the EPA knew that. Hopefully, this will lead to a renewed effort not to forget these people." About 40,000 workers toiled at Ground Zero, including immigrant day laborers, contractors, volunteers from other towns, paramedics, firefighters and police officers. They carried out myriad tasks, from digging through rubble in search of survivors to delivering ice and water. It's uncertain how many may now be sick. A medical screening and monitoring program coordinated by Mount Sinai Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine in New York indicates that more than half need immediate medical or mental health treatment. The estimate is based on a sample of the 16,000 workers screened to date. In fact, demand is so great that the waiting list for care through an independent treatment program offered by Mount Sinai is 16 weeks. The study looks at those who worked at the site during or shortly after the disaster. Rare lung diseases emerge One concern now is the emergence in first responders of rare lung-scarring diseases that could be fatal, says Robin Herbert, director of the World Trade Center program at Mount Sinai. Another concern is the potential for an increased rate of cancer in coming years. Asthma, chronic sinusitis and mental health problems also are common among those who were first on the scene. "It's tragic. Our work has identified large numbers of heavily exposed workers who were never provided with appropriate respiratory protection," Herbert says. "A more vigorous public health approach might have prevented illnesses we're seeing today." Glenn Greene, a Department of Justice lawyer representing former EPA administrator Christine Whitman, declined to comment on allegations that safety precautions were lax, as did the DOJ's press office. "From the moment the planes hit the World Trade Center, the men and women of the (EPA) ... began to do everything in their power to protect the people of New York," Whitman said in a February statement. The city of New York, which has also been criticized for its handling of safety issues, said in a 2002 release from the law department that it "did everything in its power to assist people" and that "decisions were made with the best possible information available." Vinny Forras just doesn't want his sacrifices to be forgotten. He believes more funding for treatment of first responders, as well as some sort of memorial for those who die after 9/11 of diseases related to exposure, is vital. Forras, 48, was a volunteer firefighter at the South Salem (N.Y.) Fire Department who was dispatched to the World Trade Center the day of the attack. The first thing he saw was the firetruck that his best friend had been riding in smashed by the debris from the collapsing towers; his friend had been killed. Forras worked at the site night and day. On his second day, he woke up at a triage center gasping for air; he was given steroids by the medical staff, he said, and sent back to work. At one point, Forras was working on rescue and recovery when he tried to climb down a beam; instead, he found himself buried briefly under the rubble. For an hour and a half, he says, he remained trapped underground. Three months later, his breathing problems began, he says. Forras, who has never smoked, used to be able to run two or three miles a day. Now, he can get winded walking from the car to his home, he says. He uses steroids and inhalers to breathe, antidepressants to help combat post traumatic stress disorder and sleep medications. He lives on disability payments from workers' compensation and Social Security. "It's very hard to see your own kids taking care of you," says Forras, founder of the Gear Up Foundation, a non-profit that donates fire equipment, prevention and training around the world. "We humbly did what we did. It was our job. But in 10, 15 years, we'll be ghosts. We're the Ground Zero walking wounded." And that has become a growing fear: that some first responders at the scene could develop lung diseases and other ailments that will kill them - adding to the attack's death total. Many responders, such as volunteers from other cities, may not realize their health problems are related or get the assistance they need. One million tons of dust An estimated 1 million tons of dust rained down on the city and the 16-acre disaster zone, showering the area with asbestos, Freon, carcinogens, concrete, glass fibers, lead and other hazards. Workers inhaled caustic fine cement dust and a mixture of sulfuric acid, a byproduct of combustion, which defeated the lungs' defense system and allowed particles to become deeply embedded, Cahill says. David Worby, a lawyer in White Plains, N.Y., represents about 8,000 clients with health problems who are suing supervisors, the EPA, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, contractors and others involved in the cleanup. He says more than 50 families have lost loved ones due to their Twin Towers work. No trial dates have been set. "There are thousands of people who will get cancer and will die from this, and the government isn't doing anything," Worby says. "Every week I get one or two calls from a cop saying, 'What do I do for my wife and kids? I've just been diagnosed with leukemia or sarcoidosis (an inflammation that creates scar tissue, often in the lungs).' " The Port Authority declined to comment on any pending litigation. There has been financial assistance, including a $125 million federal package that will help fund a health registry of World Trade Center first responders and nearby residents. The money includes $75 million for screenings, exams and treatment for rescue and recovery workers, as well as $50 million to the New York State Uninsured Employers Fund for reimbursement of 9/11-related claims. But some, such as Mount Sinai's Herbert, say more will be needed, because even a few severe illnesses can run up staggering medical costs. An April study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found more than half of survivors reported new or worsening respiratory symptoms after the attacks. EPA says it gave help EPA officials say in a statement that the agency "provided masks and goggles for rescuers and crew workers. EPA also encouraged rescue workers to wet down the debris to help protect themselves from asbestos, smoke and dust." The agency says it provided more than 22,000 respirators, more than 32,000 respirator cartridges and other protective gear and emphasized the need for respiratory protection at daily operations meetings at the site. "As our nation continues its effort to keep Americans safe from future attacks on our country, EPA remains passionately committed to protecting the health of our citizens and our environment," the agency said in a statement. But the EPA and other federal offices are coming under criticism for their response. In an 82-page pretrial ruling in a class-action lawsuit filed by residents and workers in the area, U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Batts said Whitman's "deliberate and misleading" statements about the air quality "shocks the conscience. " She also said in her February opinion that the EPA knew as soon as Sept. 12, 2001 - the day after the attack - that one of the first air samples contained an asbestos level four times higher than the EPA threshold for danger. The judge was ruling on motions to dismiss counts in the case; Batts agreed to let the lawsuit continue. Whitman responded with a release that said, "every action taken by the EPA during the response to this horrific event was designed to provide the most comprehensive protection and the most accurate information to the residents of Manhattan. To imply otherwise is completely inaccurate." *** The New York Post - June 25, 2006 <a href="http://www.nypost.com">www.nypost.com</a> PBA Blasts Hosp's 9/11 Health Monitoring By Susan Edelman and Carl Campanile The nation's largest police union plans to launch its own medical registry to track cancers and other life-threatening diseases hitting 9/11 responders, saying the federally funded World Trade Center medical monitoring program has kept them in the dark. "We need to find out what cancers and serious disorders are out there so we know what to look for," said Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. "Millions of dollars are being spent, and we're getting no information." The PBA will soon post an online registry for cops who helped in the 9/11 rescue and recovery to record their cancers, heart attacks, kidney failure and other illnesses, Lynch said. "We have deaths now. We can't wait for information that can save other lives," he said. The PBA's registry aims to include ill responders like Joseph Wittleder, 44, an NYPD emergency-service detective who rushed to Ground Zero on 9/11 and spent 12 to 14 hours a day for the next five weeks digging in the toxic rubble. The father of two toddlers, a nonsmoker, was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2002. A transplant with a kidney from his wife, Michele, was postponed this year when he came down with a severe lung disease. He can't sleep lying down because of breathing difficulty and coughs up "bags of blood," his wife said. "It's unbelievable that no one wants to acknowledge that guys are getting this sick from 9/11," she said. Wittleder is set to get his first screening in the WTC program -which is led by Mount Sinai Hospital - next week and join the nearly 16,000 responders who have already done so, including 5,800 checked twice. One sick responder told The Post he tried unsuccessfully to log his cancer with the program. NYPD narcotics Detective John Walcott, 41, was diagnosed with acute leukemia in 2003 - two months after the WTC program gave him a clean bill of health, he said. When he called the program to report it, he said, the people who answered the phone repeatedly told him, "We're not keeping any stats on that." Dr. Robin Herbert, incoming chief investigator and coordinator of the WTC monitoring, said the staff is instructed to record such updates. But the program - which has gotten $68 million in federal funds - lacks data on cancers and other serious diseases, Herbert acknowledged. When a comprehensive health exam finds possible problems, like a growth, patients are referred to outside doctors for further tests. The program asks patients to report back on their final diagnoses - but not all do, Herbert said. "I know we don't get all the information," she said. David Worby, a lawyer for 8,000 cops, firefighters and others in a class-action suit against the city, said cancer has struck 300, including 35 who died. Worby said the data is available to authorities, but so far none has asked for it. Meanwhile, some responders never signed up for a screening, including Brooklyn NYPD Detective John Marshall, 46, who worked at Ground Zero three months and retired in 2002. The burly, 6-foot-6 smoker suffered a massive heart attack in 2003 and was recently diagnosed with throat and lymph-node cancer. His wife, Debbie, called the city's WTC Health Registry, but said the interviewer merely told her a new questionnaire would be sent out. "They didn't seem to care. That blew me away," she said. Copyright 2006 NYP Holdings, Inc. *** AP via The Washington Post - June 25, 2006 <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/25/AR200...">www.washingtonpost.com/wp...5/AR200...</a> Police Union Plans WTC Health Registry NEW YORK -- The nation's largest police union is considering setting up a registry to track the health of officers who toiled amid the rubble of the World Trade Center following the terrorist attack, a spokesman said Sunday. Health and government officials are trying to track the health effects of the dense smoke and dust on thousands of emergency workers, residents and others, and the Bush administration has appointed an official to oversee the federal response. But leaders of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association say they cannot afford to wait for government registries to assess illnesses, such as cancer and severe respiratory ailments, over periods of years. "We understand that science takes time, but these officers don't have time," said PBA spokesman Al O'Leary. "Some have already died, and those who are alive today need to know what kinds of symptoms they should be watching for." In January, an autopsy concluded that the respiratory failure death of 34-year-old retired police detective James Zadroga was "directly related to the 9/11 incident." Dr. John Howard, the federal appointee, said recently that Zadroga's death and others may be "warning cases to us that something might be going on here." (c) 2006 The Associated Press *** NY Daily News - June 23, 2006 <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/429268p-361877c.html">www.nydailynews.com/front...1877c.html</a> Lawsuit Says Poisons Killed 57 at WTC Site By Thomas Zambito Fifty-seven Ground Zero workers have died and thousands of others have been sickened by exposure to a noxious mix of chemicals released when the World Trade Center was reduced to smoldering rubble, their lawyer said yesterday. But in a courtroom blocks from the site, the city denied responsibility, saying its contractors were acting in the nation's defense as they worked to restore Ground Zero in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. "The city and the contractors stepped up to the plate on 9/11 and worked 24/7 until the job was done," city attorney James Tyrrell told Manhattan Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein. "They jumped in, no questions asked, and did their duty." The city is trying to beat back a class-action lawsuit filed by some 8,000 workers and the families of the dead who claim the city, in its haste to clear the site, exposed them to dangerous levels of asbestos, lead and other toxins. Dozens have died from cancers accelerated by respiratory diseases brought on by their work at Ground Zero, said David Worby, an attorney who represents the plaintiffs. The sick include firefighters, cops, construction workers and other emergency personnel. Tyrrell argued that the city should be shielded from negligence claims because it was in the midst of a national emergency that demanded a "robust" response. But Worby said Ground Zero ceased being an emergency site in the days after the attacks when Bush administration officials declared air quality at Ground Zero safe. "At a certain point, the emergency ends and the regular rules have to apply," Worby said. "The tragedy is this is only the beginning [of the number of] the people who are sick and dying." Hellerstein questioned Tyrrell about the "prolonged nature" of an "emergency" cleanup that lasted eight months. The city, together with the Port Authority and several other defendants, will continue making its case before Hellerstein today.

by **slimmouse** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:39 pm

Hitler, a member of the Thule society. AKA the brotherhood of death. The entire Bush dynasty, either supported Hitler, or were members of Skull and Bones - AKA the brotherhood of death. For any lurkers on here ( most of the regular posters KNOW the score) Do you think these people really give a flying shit who does the dying ?

by **greencrow0** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 12:27 am

My belief is that there was a small nuclear bunker bomb underneath each of the towers. I will look for my link on this. The 'first responder' workers are likely dying of radiation poisoning..has there been any testing to see if there is radiation at ground zero? GC

by **Col Quisp** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 12:36 am

Interesting theory! I'd like to see your findings

by **yathrib** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 10:57 am

<a href="http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/P64954.asp">moneycentral.msn.com/cont...P64954.asp</a>

by * » Wed Jun 28, 2006 11:03 am

"Interesting theory! I'd like to see your findings" <a href="http://members.surfeu.fi/11syyskuu/military.htm">Writings of a Finnish Military Expert on 9/11</a>

by **juno jones** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 12:32 am

16 acres covered in asbestos dust.That's a lot of potential mesothimeloma. The symptoms often take about 15-25 years to manifest. We'll be seeing this shit for years. And it will not just be the first responders after awhile (they'll probably all be dead...) but people who lived and worked in that area.Just how saturated is Manhattan with this stuff? The EPA has been very closed mouthed throughout... The resident 'civilians' probably have even less chance of having their ills documented than the people who officially worked at the site. The comment about radioactivity at the site was intriguing... be interesting to find out more....

by **Hugh Manatee Wins** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 10:22 am

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>An estimated 1 million tons of dust rained down on the city and the 16-acre disaster zone, showering the area with asbestos, Freon, carcinogens, concrete, glass fibers, lead and other hazards.<hr></blockquote> Is this why there's a Bruce Willis movie called '16 Blocks'? To grab the 'psychic footprint' of a politically damaging phrase the way some domain names are pre-emptively bought to sell for a profit? Any RI readers who have read my postings on the subject of info war 'keyword hijacking' will know what I'm referring to. I'm going to keep pointing at this until more see the pattern.

by **bvonahsen** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 3:19 pm

<a href="http://members.surfeu.fi/11syyskuu/military.htm" target="top">Writings of a Finnish Military Expert on 9/11</a> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>"The thermonuclear bomb used was a 'pure' hydrogen bomb, so no uranium or plutonium at all. The basic nuclear reaction is Deuterium + Tritium > Alpha + n. The ignition of this is the fine part, either with a powerful beam array or antimatter (a very certain way to get the necessary effect of directed energy in order not to level the adjacent blocks of high-rise buildings, as well)."<hr></blockquote> Pure nonsense.

by **professorpan** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 4:44 pm

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>Is this why there's a Bruce Willis movie called '16 Blocks'?<hr></blockquote> No. :-)

Toxic Perfect Storm & Ground Zero Walking Wounded

Toxic Perfect Storm & Ground Zero Walking Wounded

Hitler/Bush...

Re: Hitler/Bush...

Nuclear bomb

Dead Peasants insurance

Re: Nuclear bomb

This is ongoing...

Re: 16 acres.....hmm.

Re: 16 acres.....hmm.

Re: 16 acres.....hmm.

Who is online