January 26th, 2006

Concerns have been raised over the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on New York’s World Trade Center. Although the attacks took place in 2001, many people are worried that the effects are still taking their toll. This comes after a police officer died from a lung disease, which has been said to have stemmed from exposure to toxic substances during the clean up of the area.

The 34-year-old officer, James Zadroga, spent a great deal of time, including extra hours, helping out at Ground Zero after the tragic attacks. There was no real protective gear provided, and officials had stated that there was no real danger with regards to contaminants such as asbestos.

A year after the disaster, the officer had written a letter, which stated: "No one cares at the job. They tell me I'm fine, go back to work. But, truthfully, I haven't felt this bad in my life. ... And what thanks do I get now that I'm sick?" His father states: "Nobody's stepped forward to take responsibility for what happened to my son. I hope somebody will do that because we have such a sense of betrayal. He felt a sense of betrayal. I can't begin to tell you how that feels. Is this how we treat heroes?"

Dr. Robin Herbert, director of Mount Sinai hospital's World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program said: "We are concerned about the emergence of more long-term diseases such as cancer. It's too early to say yet. We might not start seeing these illnesses for another 10 to 20 years."