What you should know
- Nearly 60% of first responders and survivors of the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks who are part of a government program now have a medical condition directly related to being exposed to ground zero, according to a new report released Thursday. .
- The CDC report is the most comprehensive look yet at the condition of people enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program.
- Just over 104,000 people signed up for the program as of last year. Of this number, approximately three-quarters are first responders and the remainder survivors from a designated area around the Twin Towers.
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NEW YORK – Nearly 60% of first responders and survivors of the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks who are part of a government program now have a medical condition directly related to ground zero exposure, according to a new report released Thursday.
The CDC report is the most comprehensive look yet at the condition of people enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program. The program, since 2011, has provided detection and treatment for those in certain jobs and neighborhoods exposed to toxic chemicals and dust from 9/11.
Just over 104,000 people signed up for the program as of last year. Of this number, approximately three-quarters are first responders and the remainder survivors from a designated area around the Twin Towers.
Of those, 58%, or just over 60,000 in total, have at least one certified condition, the CDC said in Thursday’s report. That’s more than double what it was in 2012. (The average individual has almost three separate, certified conditions).
The vast majority of conditions are not cancerous, primarily upper respiratory diseases, reflux, COPD, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Among cancerous conditions, the center said the most common were cancers of the skin and male genitalia.
But the fastest growth is in the cancer category – an increase of more than 1,000% from 2013 to 2020. As of last year, there were more than 12,000 certified WTC-related cancers among first responders alone.
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