At last, help for hero responders
There is no longer doubt that toxic air at Ground Zero killed some first responders and made tens of thousands seriously ill. That’s something that wasn’t widely accepted even five years ago, despite evidence all around us:
- Strapping firefighters and construction workers were reduced to wheezing husks unable to climb a flight of stairs.
- Police officers, paramedics and others were dying of lung diseases few knew even existed.
- Rescue and recovery workers who couldn’t stop coughing were terrified they also would die.
The sick and relatives of the dead blamed the poisonous air for the sarcoidosis, pulmonary fibrosis, persistent sinusitis, chronic cough, asthma and other ailments that plagued the first responders.
Still, officials refused to acknowledge any cause and effect.
Immediately after the attacks, former Environmental Protection Agency chief Christie Whitman issued statements falsely assuring Ground Zero workers there was no danger of environmental contamination.
Rudy Giuliani, the mayor at the time, said there was minimal risk because the air was “safe and acceptable,” and other top city officials later insisted anyone who got sick was receiving proper medical attention.
Then, in January 2006, NYPD Detective James Zadroga died of lung disease at age 34 after working 470 hours on The Pile – yet another healthy young man cut down in his prime and still no answers as to why.
After his death, a Daily News editorial demanded an intensive scientific probe into whether the pulverized concrete, asbestos, powdered glass, lead and cancer-causing compounds from jet fuel were making people sick – or even killing them.
The News’ Editorial Board then launched its own investigation and discovered more than two dozen peer-reviewed medical journal articles that linked the toxic air to the ailments.
Between July and December 2006, The News ran 13 editorials describing the illnesses suffered by the “Forgotten Victims” of 9/11, pointed fingers at officials who misled the public and denied aid to those who selflessly worked at Ground Zero – and gave voice to brave men and women who went untreated.
Shamed by The News’ reporting, Mayor Bloomberg boosted funding for monitoring and treating WTC-related diseases.
The state followed suit, making it easier for responders to receive workers’ compensation benefits, line-of-duty disability pensions and death benefits.
Last year, Congress passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
For its efforts, The News was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing for “compassionate and compelling editorials on behalf of Ground Zero workers whose health problems were neglected by the city and the nation.”
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