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Health Problems Plague Ground Zero Workers
Medical screenings indicate that about half of the workers on the scene of rescue and recovery efforts at the site of the World Trade Center collapse are suffering lung, ear, nose and throat ailments or mental health problems.
The analysis of the federally funded screenings, done by the Mount Sinai Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, included more than 100 Verizon technicians working to rebuild lower Manhattan's telecommunications system, as well as smaller numbers of police officers and construction, transportation, sanitation, park and emergency medial workers assigned to the collapse site or the Staten Island landfill.
"We're very disturbed by the results but we're not surprised," said Micki Siegel de Hernández, health and safety director for CWA District 1. "What it shows is the method of risk assessment to determine whether the air was safe or not was seriously flawed."
She was referring to early statements by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that air and water quality tests "found no evidence of any significant public health hazard."
"The monitoring was based on standards that were either inappropriate or inadequate," Siegel de Hernández said. "Obviously there's a mismatch between the resulting illnesses and what the government was saying in terms of exposure."
Dr. Robin Herbert of Mount Sinai called the number of people affected "alarming," especially in light of the 10 months to one year that had elapsed from the time of the attacks to the screenings. She said the results are "consistent with the findings from a number of related health studies, all of which support the urgency of providing appropriate health services for these workers."
The study results released in late January are based on an analysis of 250 of the first 500 participants, though about 3,500 workers have been screened. The results speak for the value of the program and "point to the need for treatment resources and for short-and long-term follow-up," Dr. Stephen Levin said. "The earlier these illnesses are detected and treated, the more likely that treatment will prevent long-term illness and disability."
In addition to the physical problems, 52 percent of participants reported mental health symptoms that doctors said require further evaluation. Roughly one in five people studied had symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder.
CWA represents the single largest group of people tested to date because District 1 and its locals have worked hard to inform members and urge them to take part, Siegel de Hernández said. "We were a step ahead of everybody else in terms of outreach," she said.
Screenings so far have been done only in New York, but are about to expand to other clinics in the city, Long Island and New Jersey, as well as other parts of the country to check workers and volunteers who traveled to Ground Zero to help after Sept. 11. Siegel de Hernández stressed that the screenings are free and entirely confidential, and no information about who's had one or what the results were will be available to either the union or employers.
She urged all workers who spent time at the collapse site or landfill to make an appointment, even if they've seen their own doctors. "They may not have been treated appropriately," she said. "Most physicians don't understand the effect of chemical exposures on the body. If there is a positive side to any of this, the good news is most of the health problems found during the screenings are treatable."
Doctors and politicians said they have feared money would run out before the program screens all 35,000 workers directly involved in rescue and recovery. Presently, funds are available for only 9,000 exams, but a Senate-passed budget resolution pushed by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) includes another $90 million for screening and tracking of Ground Zero workers.
Clinton has called on the White House to support the funding. "This is an American priority to take care of these brave American men and women," she said. "This is some of the most important work being done in our country right now."
More information on the screening program is available online at www.wtcexams.org. Anyone who may be eligible for a free screening can call toll free (888) 702-0630 to register.
The analysis of the federally funded screenings, done by the Mount Sinai Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, included more than 100 Verizon technicians working to rebuild lower Manhattan's telecommunications system, as well as smaller numbers of police officers and construction, transportation, sanitation, park and emergency medial workers assigned to the collapse site or the Staten Island landfill.
"We're very disturbed by the results but we're not surprised," said Micki Siegel de Hernández, health and safety director for CWA District 1. "What it shows is the method of risk assessment to determine whether the air was safe or not was seriously flawed."
She was referring to early statements by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that air and water quality tests "found no evidence of any significant public health hazard."
"The monitoring was based on standards that were either inappropriate or inadequate," Siegel de Hernández said. "Obviously there's a mismatch between the resulting illnesses and what the government was saying in terms of exposure."
Dr. Robin Herbert of Mount Sinai called the number of people affected "alarming," especially in light of the 10 months to one year that had elapsed from the time of the attacks to the screenings. She said the results are "consistent with the findings from a number of related health studies, all of which support the urgency of providing appropriate health services for these workers."
The study results released in late January are based on an analysis of 250 of the first 500 participants, though about 3,500 workers have been screened. The results speak for the value of the program and "point to the need for treatment resources and for short-and long-term follow-up," Dr. Stephen Levin said. "The earlier these illnesses are detected and treated, the more likely that treatment will prevent long-term illness and disability."
In addition to the physical problems, 52 percent of participants reported mental health symptoms that doctors said require further evaluation. Roughly one in five people studied had symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder.
CWA represents the single largest group of people tested to date because District 1 and its locals have worked hard to inform members and urge them to take part, Siegel de Hernández said. "We were a step ahead of everybody else in terms of outreach," she said.
Screenings so far have been done only in New York, but are about to expand to other clinics in the city, Long Island and New Jersey, as well as other parts of the country to check workers and volunteers who traveled to Ground Zero to help after Sept. 11. Siegel de Hernández stressed that the screenings are free and entirely confidential, and no information about who's had one or what the results were will be available to either the union or employers.
She urged all workers who spent time at the collapse site or landfill to make an appointment, even if they've seen their own doctors. "They may not have been treated appropriately," she said. "Most physicians don't understand the effect of chemical exposures on the body. If there is a positive side to any of this, the good news is most of the health problems found during the screenings are treatable."
Doctors and politicians said they have feared money would run out before the program screens all 35,000 workers directly involved in rescue and recovery. Presently, funds are available for only 9,000 exams, but a Senate-passed budget resolution pushed by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) includes another $90 million for screening and tracking of Ground Zero workers.
Clinton has called on the White House to support the funding. "This is an American priority to take care of these brave American men and women," she said. "This is some of the most important work being done in our country right now."
More information on the screening program is available online at www.wtcexams.org. Anyone who may be eligible for a free screening can call toll free (888) 702-0630 to register.