WTC's Toxic Dust Still Raising Health Concerns in NYC

As America recovers from 9/11, toxicity investigations continue to see if the dust and debris poses a definitive threat to the public. During the aftermath of 9/11, many people came to NYC to help fellow Americans recover bodies and what was left of the World Trade Center (WTC). The air, filled with toxins from the plane crash and collapsed buildings, was extremely polluted; many workers and bystanders both suddenly and later became sick.

Today NYC offers a few programs for victims of the aftermath. They can either consult with one of the member centers of the New York State Occupational Health Clinic Network or contact the World Trade Center Health Effects Treatment Program. The programs offer medical testing and treatments, along with counseling to the workers and volunteers who suffer health problems as a result of their work at the WTC.

The treatments are provided free of charge if the patient can prove their health issues correlate directly to the WTC site.

However, not all of the WTC symptoms have not been discovered by health officials. Names like "World Trade Center cough" has been used around within the city and in hospitals.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), "At least 10,000 New Yorkers have suffered short-term health ailments from WTC generated air contaminants." 1.2 million tons of building materials were mixed with thousands of gallons of jet fuel containing benzene and other toxic chemicals.

This also includes about three hundred tons of asbestos in the buildings. CBS 2 News revealed documents saying, "Lower Manhattan was reopened a few weeks after the attack even though the air was not safe."

A memorandum found in 2001 stated the building's owners put pressure on the mayor's office in order to reopen more of the city as quickly as possible. The memo also revealed that the Environmental Protection Administration were not rushing to make any data results available for the citizens of NYC; the public was not informed of the air quality status after the disaster. Government officials still seem to give no direct answer regarding the NYC air.

On Aug. 18, the Deutsche Bank tower, located at the WTC area, caught on fire throughout many of the upper levels. Two firefighters died in the hospital shortly after trying to put out the fire. Their death was a result of their lungs collapsing from all the toxic chemicals lingering inside the towers along with multiple other materials found afterward. After the August blaze, the NYC Fire Department revealed failure to check the Deutsche bank since the year 2005.

Last year, the Deutsche Bank towers were checked every two weeks until firefighters stopped coming in March 2006, even after a steel pipe fell through the tower's roof in late June. Inspections followed by the August blaze showed more than 120 fire hazards were found in the building. This brought about deep concern from the public and a new safety plan was then developed.

In the upcoming months the Deutsche building will be demolished. Together with Avi Schick, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Mayor Bloomberg announced new safety rules at the Deutsche Bank tower to ensure there will be no repeat of the fire.

A fire official will stay on-site while the building is demolished in the coming months of this year. There will also be a safety expert on site twenty four hours a day, even when no work is being done.

The fire is still being investigated and officials claim the "dangerous condition in the building may have contributed to the deaths of the firefighters."

Newsday claimed the tower was filled with toxic dust created by the 9/11 terrorist attack, only to say in a different article that no asbestos or other chemicals were detected after conducting air tests. Because of inconclusive data, New Yorkers still are not aware of the levels of air contamination as a result to 9/11 and the construction thereafter.