7 Years After 9/11, First Responders Still Lack Medical Treatment

[marmar]

7 Years After 9/11, First Responders Still Lack Medical Treatment

by Mike Hall, Jul 31, 2008



Medical and health and safety experts today urged Congress to approve new legislation to establish a permanent monitoring, research and health care program for the responders and people who lived and worked near Ground Zero who were exposed to the same mix of pulverized glass and concrete, asbestos, lead and burning jet fuel.

Peg Seminario, AFL-CIO health and safety director, told the House Subcommittee on Health:

The exposures were made much worse by EPA’s pronouncements that the environment was safe and OSHA’s failure to enforce workplace safety and health requirements during the entire 10-month period of rescue, recovery and clean-up operations at the WTC site.

As many as 100,000 responders—firefighters, paramedics, rescue and recovery workers—were exposed to the stew of chemicals and other toxic substances in the rubble of the World Trade Center following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

A study by doctors at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City in 2006 found nearly 70 percent of firefighters, police officers, emergency medical crews, construction workers, utility workers and volunteers suffered lung and other serious health problems.

But nearly seven years later, not only is there no guaranteed comprehensive medical treatment program, but the Bush administration consistently has delayed and blocked efforts and cut funding for Sept. 11-related health care. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/07/31/7-years-after-911-first-responders-still-lack-medical-treatment

[babylonsister]

1. Sigh. This just disgusts me. nt

[pitohui]

2. will they all have to go to cuba?

seems like a filmmaker has done more than our gov't has to help these heroes