A study of nearly 13,000 first responders at Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001 attacks have had lung problems due to the toxic dust. According to the New York City Fire Department's World Trade Center Monitoring and Treatment Program, researchers found "a substantial proportion of workers with abnormal lung function." Dr. David Prezant told the Daily News, "We demonstrated dramatic decline in lung function, mostly in the first six months after 9/11, and these declines persisted with little or no meaningful recovery over the next six-and-a-half years."
Overall, those exposed to the conditions at Ground Zero lost 10% of their lung function during the first year, and recovered very little in the following years. Firefighters suffer coughs during their usual course of work, but they recover— Dr. Prezant explained to the NY Times, "This was not a regular fire. There were thousands of gallons of burning jet fuel and an immense, dense particulate matter cloud that enveloped these workers for days." He said that 30-40% of the first responders studied "were found to have persistent symptoms, like cough, wheeze, sore throat, shortness of breath or sinus drip."
Recently, a judge has said a proposed $575 million settlement between the city and first responders who suffered illness from the attacks is inadequate, and this new study might support that point. In other Ground Zero news, officials at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum revealed details of what its exhibits will offer, which include "recreations of the makeshift memorials that cropped up throughout the city in the hours, days and weeks after the incident."
