KEY POINTS

9/11 HEALTH MONITORING AND TREATMENT

• Those who responded to the World Trade Center on 9/11 and in the following months selflessly put their lives and health on the line to help America recover from a national disaster. We have a moral obligation as a nation to provide them the care they need and deserve.
   

• World Trade Center responders were exposed to a toxic mix of dust and chemicals, including carcinogens such as benzene, asbestos, and dioxins, as well as extreme psychological trauma. Elevated air contamination levels persisted for many months due to rubble removal operations and fires.
   

• Medical screening has found significant physical health impacts, including respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms, among World Trade Center responders. The Fire Department of New York found that 99% of exposed New York City Fire Fighters experienced at least one new respiratory symptom while working at Ground Zero, while the Mount Sinai Medical Center found that nearly 70% of responders developed new or worsened respiratory symptoms as a direct result of their work at Ground Zero.
   

• Screening has also found a significant number of responders suffering from mental health symptoms, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 19% of adults enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry showed symptoms of probable PTSD in 2006-2007.
   

• Continuing medical monitoring is essential for all World Trade Center responders as the long-term consequences of the sustained, unprecedented exposure they experienced are unknown. Regular monitoring will help ensure that latent diseases, such as cancer, are detected and treated early.
   

• Although the World Trade Center monitoring and treatment programs are currently funded through the annual appropriations process, the long-term nature of 9/11 illnesses requires a long-term and stable funding mechanism.
   

• Since 9/11, the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) has provided monitoring and treatment to over 15,000 active and retired members. Because of the inordinate impact the World Trade Center response had on the city’s fire department, without sustained federal funds, the costs of such services would bankrupt the FDNY health plan.
   

• Although the Victim Compensation Fund closed to applicants on December 22, 2003, many responders’ diseases did not develop until after this date. Responders should not be denied compensation just because they developed their illness after the original deadline.