THE CONNECTION BETWEEN 9/11 AND ASBESTOS

3 Jan 2016

11 September 2001 is a date that will remain forever in the history of humankind. Unfortunately, the tragedy that happened had collateral victims, too. The victims of 9/11 were not just the people in the planes and those in the World Trade Center, as many tend to believe.

 

The problem is that once the towers burned and fell, a large amount of toxins were released in the air and of course, breathed by those who were in the area when everything happened. The dust that covered Manhattan in the hours that followed contained fiberglass, concrete, lead, cadmium, mercury and asbestos. The people on the streets had problems seeing what happened around them because of the dust, not to mention that this was inhaled.

 

One of the main discussions after the event was about asbestos. When the World Trade Center was raised, in the late 1960s, there were no asbestos regulations, so on 9/11, when the towers collapsed, 400 tons of fibers were in the buildings. Some journalists even sustained a theory which says that the buildings burned down so fast because of the asbestos.

 

However, the real problem was that the community living and working in the vicinity of the World Trade Center was heavily exposed to asbestos. According to a study done after the tragedy, about 85% of the people in the area (including those that came to offer their help) suffered serious exposure – 80,000 tower employees, 30,000 residents and 4,000 first responders, among others.

 

These people developed health problems immediately. The doctors named the aftermath The World Trade Center Cough. In 2006, the first person to die by a disease caused by the exposure to asbestos during 9/11 was Deborah Reeve, one of paramedics from the Fire Department of the city of New York.

 

Using the example of Deborah, the doctors encourage those that suffer asbestos exposure to undergo periodic check-ups in order to prevent serious health problems.



‹ BACK TO BLOG