| By :
Wendy Moyer
It has been known for many years that exposure to asbestos fibers and asbestos dust can result in debilitating and potentially life threatening diseases such as malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleaural plaques, and more. Throughout most of the twentieth century asbestos was used as an insulation material and as a fire retardant in the majority of the buildings that were constructed in urban as well as suburban environs. The site for the World Trade Center took up sixteen acres of land. Construction of the World Trade Center began in Lower Manhattan in 1966. Originally the New York Port Authority planned on using 5,000 tons of fireproofing that contained asbestos for the first forty floors of each of the buildings. However, because there was an anticipated ban on using asbestos in construction in New York, by the time the builders reached the fortieth floor of the North Tower - the first tower to be built - they stopped using these materials. On September 11, 2001 the World Trade Center was hit by airplanes. Subsequently several of the buildings collapsed. The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health produced a fact sheet that states: "Asbestos was a major material used in the construction of the World Trade Center. That asbestos is a constituent of the dust and debris." When the World Trade Center buildings were attacked hundreds of tons of asbestos that was used in the North Tower's construction were released into the air. Everyone who was involved in the rescue, cleanup, and recovery of the site are at risk of developing asbestos related diseases. This includes the police officers, firefighters, paramedics, construction workers, and volunteers who spent time at Ground Zero. More than 2/3 of the rescue and recovery workers at the WTC experienced worsened - or new - respiratory symptoms while they worked at the site. A screening program was established by the WTC Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program to characterize and identify possible World Trade Center related health issues. The study found that 38% of the people tested exhibited indications of abnormal lung function, and 61% of those who didn't have any previous health problems developed respiratory symptoms. However, it is possible that dust and debris from materials other than asbestos could have caused these symptoms. Nonetheless, people who lived close to the World Trade Center or attended nearby schools could also be in danger of developing lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, pleural plaques, asbestosis, or a number of other asbestos related diseases. Since asbestos related illnesses usually take at least fifteen years to develop, and diseases such as mesothelioma could take as long as fifty years before the symptoms become apparent, anyone who lived or worked near Ground Zero on September 11, 2001 is potentially at risk for many years to come.
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