We’ve come a long way since I first wrote about 9/11 first responders battles with cancers in 9/11’s second round of slaughter. That was in Online Journal, January 16, 2008. It was a review of the documentary Dust to Dust: the health effects of 9/11, a landmark film by Heidi Dehncke-Fisher that began by pointing out the list of toxins in the air that day . . .
- Over 400 tons of asbestos, which once inhaled in any quantity cannot be expelled by the lungs
- 90,000 liters of jet fuel containing benzene, a carcinogen that suppresses the immune system and causes leukemia
- Mercury from over 500,000 fluorescent lights that is toxic to the nervous system, and damaging especially to the kidneys
- 200,000 pounds of lead and cadmium from personal computers, toxic to the respiratory track, especially damaging to kidneys
- Polycystic aromatic hydrocarbons that cause lung, laryngeal and throat cancers
- 130,000 gallons of transformer oil with PCBs, causing serious skin rashes and liver damage
- Crystalline Silica from 420,000 tons of concrete, sheetrock and glass (tiny particulates that lodge in heart, causing ischemic heart disease)
. . . and so on and on and on . . .
Given that list, is it any wonder that the latest federally sponsored study of almost 21,000 World Trade Center rescue and recovery workers found a 15 percent overall increased risk of cancer? The incidences of thyroid, prostate and blood, lymph and soft tissue cancers were much higher than expected, according to the study, published online Tuesday in the Journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The study was conducted from 2001 to 2008 by researchers associated with the federally funded World Trade Center Health Program.
And it is good to see that this new information appeared nationally in Newsday, written by Ridgely Ochs, who picked up the torch on behalf of our first responders . . .
All of those cancers except prostate cancer are covered under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Last year, about 60 types of cancer were added to the list of World Trade Center-related conditions.
The study’s findings mirror previous ones. A 2011 study looking at 9,853 city firefighters found a 19 percent increase in cancers among 9/11 responders compared with firefighters who didn’t work at Ground Zero. Last year, a study of 56,000 people, including those who lived or worked near the trade center and rescue-and-recovery workers, found a 14 percent increase in all cancers, and higher rates of multiple myeloma, thyroid and prostate cancers. At the time, the overall increase was not seen as “significantly elevated.” But this latest study shows that the increase in cancer, while not huge, is consistent—and bears watching, experts said.
“The important thing is that we’re finding converging results,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and one of the study’s authors. “We’re looking at different populations, yet finding the same thing. That’s evidence this is a real finding and not a statistical fluke.”
Dr. Benjamin Luft, director of the World Trade Center Health Program in Suffolk, Nassau and Brooklyn and an author of the study, said the findings underscore the need for further monitoring. “Although the trends observed were very modest, it is disturbing that there was seemingly an increased number of cases in certain cancers, such as prostate, that were not previously thought to be impacted by exposure at Ground Zero,” he said.
The incidence of thyroid cancer was 239 percent higher than what one would expect to find in a similar population; the incidence of soft tissue cancers was 226 percent higher. Blood and lymph cancers were 36 percent higher and the incidence of prostate cancer was 21 percent higher.
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By contrast, the incidence of lung cancer was 11 percent lower than expected, the study found.
The higher rates of thyroid and prostate cancers perplexed the researchers. Thyroid cancer has been linked to exposure to radioactive iodine, the study said, but there was little evidence that this was present at Ground Zero.
The evidence that prostate cancer is linked to occupational or environmental causes has been weak—the reason that it wasn’t included among the cancers covered under the Zadroga act. This latest study theorized the increased incidence could be because responders were being examined more often.
Experts remain divided about whether prostate cancer should be added to the list of covered cancers. Like John Feal, I feel they should. No effort should be spared to help our First Responders.
Dr. Jacqueline Moline, director of the World Trade Center Health Program in Queens and an author of the study, said, “It’s hard to make the connection with prostate cancer. . . . We don’t know enough yet.”
But Landrigan and Dr. James Melius, chairman of the steering committee for the World Trade Center Health Program, said they thought it should.
“Screening doesn’t account for what’s going on,” Melius said.
Asked whether Dr. John Howard, the head of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which administers the World Trade Center Health Program, would add prostate cancer, spokeswoman Christina Spring said: “There’s always an option as new science unfolds that the administrator might include Howard will add prostate cancer,” he said.
The faithful John Feal, founder of the FealGood Foundation advocacy group, said prostate cancer should be added, especially since far more rare cancers are on the list. “I am certain Dr. Howard will add prostate cancer,” he said.
The cancer study profile
- 20,984 responders
- 85% Male
- 59% White non-Hispanic
- 58% Never smoked
- 38 Median age
- 43% Exposed to dust cloud on 9/11
- 57 days Median duration of service
- 575 tumors found (498.8 expected)
- Some cancers found; number expected
- Oral cavity and pharynx: 21; 17.3
- Digestive system: 86; 90.8
- Lung and bronchus 43; 48.4
- Melanoma: 20; 21.6
- Breast: 26; 28.8
- Prostate 129; 106.8
- Testis: 16; 12.2
- Urinary bladder: 29; 21.2
- Kidney and renal pelvis: 31; 22.2
- Brain and other nervous system: 12; 9.8
- Thyroid: 39; 16.3
- Hematological (leukemia and lymphoma): 74; 34.5
- SOURCE: Environmental Health Perspectives ___
- 20,984 responders
- 85% Male
- 59% White non-Hispanic
- 58% Never smoked
- 38 Median age
- 43% Exposed to dust cloud on 9/11
- 57 days Median duration of service
- 575 tumors found (498.8 expected)
- Some cancers found; number expected
- Oral cavity and pharynx: 21; 17.3
- Digestive system: 86; 90.8
- Lung and bronchus 43; 48.4
- Melanoma: 20; 21.6
- Breast: 26; 28.8
- Prostate 129; 106.8
- Testis: 16; 12.2
- Urinary bladder: 29; 21.2
- Kidney and renal pelvis: 31; 22.2
- Brain and other nervous system: 12; 9.8
- Thyroid: 39; 16.3
- Hematological (leukemia and lymphoma): 74; 34.5
SOURCE: Environmental Health Perspectives . . .
Bottom line, it does my heart good to see the strides that have been taken by doctors, scientists, Congress, the Zagroda bill, and the general public in understanding the great sacrifices these First Responders made on 9/11. As the War on Terror still rages around the globe, it’s also good to see that its first warriors are being well taken care of. My hopes for a healthy future go out to them all.
Jerry Mazza is a freelance writer and life-long resident of New York City. An EBook version of his book of poems “State Of Shock,” on 9/11 and its after effects is now available at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. He has also written hundreds of articles on politics and government as Associate Editor of Intrepid Report (formerly Online Journal). Reach him at gvmaz@verizon.net.
