As of 2007, around seven out of 10 faced respiratory issues as a result of contamination from Ground Zero.
Several years on, first responders began falling sick en masse. A week after the attack, EPA head Christine Todd Whitman informed residents of lower Manhattan that the air was “safe to breathe and water is safe to drink.” Mayor Rudy Giuliani expressed similar claims of limited toxicity, encouraging New Yorkers to return to their normal routines. It was thick, terrible stuff.” The fire burned for 100 days.ĭespite the toxic particles in the air, rescue workers and cleanup crews were permitted to work at Ground Zero without respirators. “What we do know is that it had all kinds of god-awful things in it. Michael Crane, at the World Trade Center Health Program, told Newsweek in 2016. “We will never know the composition of that cloud, because the wind carried it away, but people were breathing and eating it,” Dr. Tens of thousands of first responders came to the aid of victims on September 11, searching for survivors, managing the cleanup of Ground Zero, and exposing themselves to toxic debris in the air including asbestos, lead, and pulverized concrete, which causes silicosis. Almost two decades out from the disaster, billions have been spent on the effort, and lawmakers have passed several rounds of bills to ensure health care for emergency workers and their families - but there have been numerous public health and political failures. To fully understand Stewart’s frustration requires a thorough accounting of lawmakers’ response to the health crises and loss of life following the cleanup of Ground Zero. Sick and dying, they brought themselves down here to speak to no one.” And in front of me, a nearly empty Congress. “Behind me, a filled room of 9/11 first responders. “I can’t help but think what an incredible metaphor this room is for the entire process that getting health care and benefits for 9/11 first responders has come to,” he said. But Stewart, who appeared alongside World Trade Center emergency workers, became frustrated when only a little over half of the subcommittee members showed up.
On Tuesday, former Daily Show host and frequent advocate for 9/11 first responders Jon Stewart appeared before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, encouraging representatives to vote on Wednesday to re-up the funding of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Alvarez will soon begin his 69th round of chemotherapy for cancer related to his exposure at Ground Zero. First responder Luis Alvarez pictured with Jon Stewart on Tuesday.
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