As the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks draws near, many will take time to remember the turmoil and grief caused that day. About 3,000 people lost their lives during a one-day blitz attack as an Al-Qaeda terrorist group hijacked American planes and used them as weapons.
Two planes crashed into the twin towers, one into the pentagon, and another in a field after passengers took control of the plane.
Now, a decade later researchers are looking into the health of the brave men and women that worked to rescue those trapped at ground zero.
The findings:
A study shows that firefighters working to rescue people at the World Trade Center have a higher risk of cancer. The breakdown:
- 263 cases of cancer in the exposed group compared to 238 expected from a similar sized group from the general NY city population
- Those in the exposed group had a 10% higher chance of developing cancer compared to the general population of NY city
- Those in the exposed group had a 19% higher chance of developing cancer compared to those in the unexposed group
- 135 cases of cancer in the non-exposed group, compared to 161 expected from a similar sized group from the general NY city population
Dr. Prezant, Chief Medical Officer of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) and a team of researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, and also FDNY, carried out a study.
The explanation
“An association between World Trade Center exposure and cancer is biologically plausible, because some contaminants there included dust, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and dioxins, which are all known carcinogens,” the authors wrote.
“Although some contaminants could cause cancer directly, WTC exposure could also trigger chronic inflammation, through microbial infections, autoimmune diseases, or other inflammatory disorders, all of which have been reported.”
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