9/11 ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION
DEMANDS  CLEANUP !   NOT COVERUP !   NOW  !!!!!

[Please check back from time to time -- we have begun to reorganize and update this page.]

ASSISTANCE

The Bellevue WTC Environmental Healthcare Center

 

212-562-1720

 

http://nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/facilities/bellevue.shtml

and

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/services/wtc-health-center.shtml

See also: 9/11 Recovery and Resilience Resources from New York Disaster Interfaith Services

http://www.nydis.org/recovery/11.php

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HEALTH REGISTRY

The World Trade Center Health Registry is a confidential health survey of many of those most directly exposed to the events of 9/11/01. Those who enrolled did so voluntarily, when enrollment opened. Enrollment was possible during the period September 5, 2003 through August 31, 2007, by answering a 30-minute telephone survey about where they were on 9/11/01. Their reports about the status of their health were entirely their own -- that is, no standardized clinical examinations or evaluations were performed. Design of the Registry did allow inclusion of a control group, in order to give health professionals some basis to compare the health of those most exposed to the events of 9/11/01 with the health of the general population. For information, reports, and studies completed to date, please see its website, at http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/wtc/index.html

The health registry was designed with a minimum of input from the community. Some of the issues, questions and concerns that were not resolved were examined in a factsheet prepared by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, and published on its website to assist people in making a decision about whether or not to enroll:

The World Trade Center Registry What You Need to Know

And indeed, predictable problems occurred during the inital interviews conducted by the WTC Health Registry yet, and have been documented in public comments solicited by 9/11 EA for our website >>>

Nonetheless, the studies published by the Registry have validated the community's claim that contamination from the World Trade Center's uncontrolled destruction would harm public health. And over the years, the WTC Health Registry has begun to work more closely with representatives from the community. It has now included several of them in the Community Advisory Board, as well as in the Labor Advisory Committee. In 2005 a list of members of the CAB became available, and can be viewed here.

The first follow-up survey was mailed to registrants in the fall of 2006. More than 30,000 World Trade Center Health Registry enrollees have completed their follow-up survey. If you have not already completed your follow-up survey, please consider doing so.

In order to continue to study the long-term effects of 9/11, it is important that as many of the original 70,000 registrants as possible take the time to complete this second round of questions.

If you did not receive your questionnaire, please see the WTC Health Registry's information on how to obtain one at http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/wtc/survey.html.

COMMUNITY ACTION

The original NYC Department of Health advisory, "Public Health Advisory Concerning Air Quality in the Affected Area of the World Trade Center Disaster", posted on its website in the fall of 2001, denied the dangers of the contamination so thoroughly that many people have become ill. The community began to fight back, and research studies have supported that fight.

A lot has happened since that first advisory, which contained the following in its FAQs:

"Do pregnant women and young children need to take additional precautions?"

"No. Pregnant women and young children do not need to take additional precautions."

Many pages on this website document this struggle. Here's a quick list of some of the public activity:

February 1, 2005:

9/11 Responders Offer "The State of Our Health" in lead-up to President's "State of the Union". See the Press Release here, and the Testimony of Downtown Resident here.

Septemer 7, 2006:

9/11 Environmental Action, together with other community organizations, sponsored a Town Hall, Affected but Neglected: The Impact of 9/11 on Community Health and a Call for Federal Action, The news coverage didn't report that more than 300 folks turned out for the event, emphatically embracing the call. It's not that the press failed to mention the event, as they reported on the demands that were raised repeatedly by not just the community, but public officials as well, they just neglected to mention, in addition to the lively attendance, who sponsored the event...

PROPOSED LEGISLATION

H.R.1414: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for comprehensive health benefits for the relief of individuals whose health was adversely affected by the 9/11 disaster. 

Sponsored by Congressman Jerrold Nadler, introduced 3/08/07, also known as "The 9/11 Heroes Health Improvement Act of 2007"

H.R.1638: To provide protections and services to certain individuals after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, in New York City, in the State of New York, and for other purposes. 

Sponsored by Congressman Carolyn Maloney, introduced 3/22/07, also known as "The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act"

S.201: A bill to establish a grant program for individuals still suffering health effects as a result of the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City and at the Pentagon.

Sponsored by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, introduced 1/8/2007

STUDIES

Upper Respiratory Symptoms and Other Health Effects Among Residents Living Near the World Trade Center Site after September 11, 2001, the abstract,

by Shao Lin (1), Joan Reibman(2), James A Bowers(1), Syni-An Hwang(1), Anne Hoeming(2), Marta I. Gomez(1), Edward F. Fitzgerald(3), American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 162, No. 6, September 15, 2005

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Transgenerational Effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Babies of Mothers Exposed to the World Trade Center Attacks During Pregnancy, the abstract and the study

by Rachel Yehuda, Stephanie Mulherin Engel, Sarah R. Brand, Jonathan Seckl, Sue M. Marcus and Gertrud S. Berkowitz, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, First published May 3, 2005. Copyright 2005 by The Endocrine Society

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Public Health and Economic Consequences of Methylmercury Toxicity to the Developing Brain, the abstract and the study

by Leonardo Trasande, Philip J. Landrigan, Clyde Schechter

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by Frederica Perera, Deliang Tang, Robin Whyatt, Sally Ann Lederman and Wieslaw Jedrychowski, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, Vol. 14, 709-714, March 2005

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Asthma in Medicaid Managed Care Enrollees Residing in New York City: Results from a Post World Trade Center Disaster Survey, the abstract and the study

by Victoria L. Wagner, Marleen S. Radigan, Patrick J. Roohan, Joseph P. Anarella, and Foster C. GestenJournal of Urban Health; Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, Doi:10.1093/jurban/jti010  

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The Effects of the World Trade Center Event on Birth Outcomes among Term Deliveries at Three Lower Manhattan Hospitals, abstract and the full article (in html or pdf format),

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The World Trade Center Residents' Respiratory Health Study New Onset Respiratory Symptoms and Pulmonary Function,the abstract and conclusion for the study

by Joan Reibman, Shao Lin, Syni-An A. Hwang, Mridu Gulati, James A. Bowers, Linda Rogers, Kenneth I. Berger, Anne Hoerning, Marta Gomez, and Edward F. Fitzgerald; Environmental Health Perspective

for the study itself: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2004/7375/7375.pdf

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Risk Assessment and Public Health Implications of WTC Dust Contamination of the Deutsche Bank 130 Liberty Street Property,

May 12, 2004, prepared by Deutsche Bank Health Group, for the Deutsche Bank, posted on the web site of the New York Environmental Law and Justice Project (www.nyenvirolaw.org)

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Clinical deterioration in pediatric asthmatic patients after September 11, 2001, abstract for the study, published in J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2004 Mar;113(3):420-6

by Szema AM, Khedkar M, Maloney PF, Takach PA, Nickels MS, Patel H, Modugno F, Tso AY, Lin DH., Department of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8161, USA, March 2004

• The study itself, Szema_et_al._Asthma _WTC_Collapse; J_All_Clin_Imm_ 2003.pdf
• The Editorial, Szema_Editorial_in_J_All_Clin_Imm_2004.pdf
• Correspondence between the NYC Dept. of Health and the Authors

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WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH REGISTRY PROVIDES PRELIMINARY DATA ON 9/11 ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE, NYC Dept. of Mental Health & Hygiene Press Release, Jan. 30, 2004

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The World Trade Center Disaster and Intrauterine Growth Restriction, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Aug 2003; 290: 595 - 596.

by Gertrud S. Berkowitz; Mary S. Wolff; Teresa M. Janevic; Ian R. Holzman; Rachel Yehuda; Philip J. Landrigan

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