9/11 first responders at higher risk for blood cancer-associated mutations | Hacker News Reader

9/11 first responders at higher risk for blood cancer-associated mutations

news.vumc.org

43 pointscaaqil15 comments

Never forget that it took 10 years to pass a bill for federal funding for victims and 18 years to secure it forever.

https://www.consumersafety.org/news/9-11-zadroga-act-18-year...

> In February 2019, the VCF Special Master, Rupa Bhattacharyya, announced in her monthly status report that the VCF was running low on funds. Out of the $7.375 billion allotted to the fund in 2015, the VCF had just $2 billion left to cover victim compensation claims for the next two years. To stretch the remaining funds and cover the increasing number of claims filed, Bhattacharyya proposed a 50-70% cut to compensation awards.

These people will gladly slash a victim fund to save a buck, and then print $6T to bailout their rich friends.

They will help no one if it doesn't help their careers.

The towers had a high amount of asbestos. I am not surprised that we see the effects so many years later.

No asbestos. It was extremely fine particles of other materials.

To clarify, they didn't contain a "high amount" of asbestos, but there also wasn't "no" asbestos:

>Much of the thousands of tons of debris resulting from the collapse of the Twin Towers was pulverized concrete, which is known to cause silicosis upon inhalation. The remainder consisted of more than 2,500 contaminants, more specifically: 50% non-fibrous material and construction debris; 40% glass and other fibers; 9.2% cellulose; and 0.8% of the extremely toxic carcinogen asbestos, as well as detectable amounts of lead and mercury.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_arising_from_th...

0.8% of that mass is still a lot. Imagine having the pile of both towers and grabbing 1/100 of it.

When the constriction of the twin towers started in 1968 asbestos was used for insulation.

In April 1970, the New York City Department of Air Resources established asbestos spray insulation regulations. As a result, the Department ordered contractors to stop the use of asbestos in the World Trade Center. The upper levels of the north tower and the entirety of the south tower contained asbestos alternatives.

It's estimated that the north tower contained 300 – 400 tons of asbestos.

I am corrected.

20 years later! Makes me cringe thinking what we will know about Covid 20 years from now.

The effects of ingesting asbestos were known a long time before this.

The reason so many people got cancer was bad information from the government that led to rescue workers not using proper protective equipment.

https://publicintegrity.org/politics/epa-misleads-on-air-qua...

Just noting it's not just asbestos. There was also crystalline silica, cadmium, lead (Pb) and probably many other contaminates in the dust and rubble, plus whatever was in the initial fire and smoke.

Just the extremely fine airborne particles, even where otherwise normally harmless, turn out to be a problem.

Or all sorts of particles people inhale.

The most notable detail about this was that, at the time, US Environmental Protection Agency was loudly insisting that the dust cloud was harmless while their own scientific staff were on the scene, with equipment paid for out-of-pocket, demonstrating it was very, very far from harmless.

The same thing was happening in Flint, Michigan, later. EPA management under Bush and Trump was national disgrace.

Flint was during Obama.

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