In The News: Illness from Toxic Air Plagues Ground Zero Workers

CWA members who worked alongside police and firefighters in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack are among thousands of rescue and recovery workers who are suffering persistent health problems five years later, the Mount Sinai Medical Center reported in September.

The center coordinates the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program, which has seen nearly 12,000 people who worked or volunteered at or near Ground Zero, including hundreds of CWA-represented telecom workers, nurses, news crews and traffic enforcement officers.

About 60 percent of the workers screened are still suffering a variety of respiratory and pulmonary problems, including asthma, chronic sinus problems, bouts of pneumonia, vocal cord disfunction and chronic coughing. Many workers are also suffering mental health problems.

Federal dollars covered comprehensive exams for the workers, but unions and other advocates had to battle to get funds, and fight even harder to get money just this year to offer treatment, said Micki Siegel de Hernandez, health and safety director for CWA District 1 and a member of the monitoring program's steering committee.

"We've been fighting since 9-11 for this program to exist, and for an expansion of it," Siegel de Hernandez said. "The funding has been piecemeal, when it should be in place for at least the next 30 years."

Help is still available in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, as well as many other parts of the country, for anyone who worked or volunteered at Ground Zero and meets eligibility requirements. Anyone hasn't been screened or had follow-up appointments is urged to call the medical monitoring program toll-free at (888) 702-0630, or go online to www.wtcexams.org.