Doctor details 9/11 workers' illnesses

Doctors treating ground zero workers offered Congress a detailed diagnosis

By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer

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.


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.

Patricia Clark, a regional official with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said workers who were exposed to ground zero toxins in the first 48 hours after the attacks were hit with an "incredible assault" on their health. Still, she defended her agency's air sampling, which found little evidence of dangerously high levels of asbestos and other contaminants.




They found:

-Lower respiratory problems in 40 percent of patients. Asthma and asthma-like reactive airways disease were found in 30 percent. Smaller portions of patients had chronic cough - 7 percent - or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - 5 percent.




Lingering 9/11-related illnesses - and deaths of some first responders years after the attacks - have led to calls in Congress for a federal program to fund long-term health programs for those workers.
