WASHINGTON (AP) — Doctors treating sickened ground zero workers offered Congress a detailed diagnosis Wednesday of the ailments still affecting thousands after the Sept. 11 attacks, but warned that there's no way to determine how many more may become afflicted with life-threatening illnesses.
Dr. Philip Landrigan of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine described three months of recent medical treatment to a House panel examining how many of those who toiled on the toxic debris pile are still sick — or may get sick.
Thousands of people "are still suffering," Landrigan said a day after the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Their ailments range from runny noses to laryngitis to lung disease, he said.
"Respiratory illness, psychological distress and financial devastation have become a new way of life for many," he told the House Education and Labor Committee. He advocated leaving Sept. 11-related medical programs in place to try to determine how many workers might develop long-term diseases.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gpkuz2IywMWhJDxImFB_ff2IgwSw================
"We call them heroes but treat them like chumps." - Bill Maher
"The air in lower Manhattan is safe to breathe." - Christine Todd Whitman, September 18, 2001
"The air is safe as far as we can tell, with respect to chemical and biological agents." - Presidential candidate and erstwhile "America's Mayor", September 13, 2001
"Our tests show that it is safe for New Yorkers to go back to work in New York’s financial district." - OSHA press release, September 16, 2001
"The Environmental Protection Agency's internal watchdog says White House officials pressured the agency to prematurely assure the public that the air was safe to breathe a week after the World Trade Center collapse. " - CBS News, August 22, 2003
"White House ordered EPA to LIE about 9/11 pollution data." - CommonDreams.org, August 23, 2003
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