NIOSH adds mesothelioma to diseases covered by 9/11 Health and Compensation Act
In 2011, President Barack Obama signed into law the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (HCA), a piece of legislation designed to provide medical screening and treatment for first responders and cleanup crew members who worked at the sites of the September 11 terrorist attacks. While the act was a welcome move forward for many people suffering from asbestos exposure incurred after the attacks, it left out a few serious health conditions, including mesothelioma.Now, that's been rectified. In a statement released on June 8, John Howard, the director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) added 14 types of cancer to the list of those covered by the law. These included malignant pleural and peritoneal mesotheliomas.
Many patients and advocates rejoice
While this move is somewhat controversial - mainly because of a perceived lack of funds for the new coverage - many lawmakers and patient advocacy groups have stressed just how important the addendum is.
Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), one of the sponsors of the original HCA, told the New York Times that the law is about more than funding.
"I think it's an important statement that the country's going to take care of the workers and people who are there to save the lives of the people of the city," she said, quoted by the newspaper.
A significant number of people who volunteered at or near Ground Zero after the attacks have developed respiratory cancers, but not all have received coverage under the original HCA. Howard's report, which can be read online in its entirety, explains that his decision to include mesothelioma and other cancers under the HCA is intended to remedy this situation.
Study connects 9/11 asbestos exposure to higher cancer rates
In part, NIOSH based this amendment on several studies of respiratory problems among 9/11 first responders. One report in particular, published in a 2011 issue of The Lancet, estimated that firefighters who inhaled toxic dust at Ground Zero had a 20 percent higher incidence of cancers, compared to those who were not exposed to the noxious mix of asbestos, smoke, cement dust and combusted jet fuel.
While Howard cautioned that more evidence is needed to firmly connect this exposure to certain cancers, other health officials are less skeptical.
Raja Flores, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine's chief of thoracic surgery, told FOX News that about 2,000 tons of asbestos was released into the air around the World Trade Center site. Roughly 30,000 first responders have been screened at Mount Sinai, and Flores said that his primary concern is that many of these individuals may one day develop mesothelioma.
6/18/12
