NYPD Study Shows Increased Cancer Rates In 9/11 Ground Zero First Responder Police
As per a New York Post report, a study by the NYPD suggests that “NYPD cops who worked at Ground Zero after 9/11 had 50 percent more cancer diagnoses than officers did in the years before the terror attacks.”
Researchers reviewed “the medical records of nearly 40,000 cops who were on the job on 9/11 and tracked their cancer rates through 2014,” as well as post-9/11 retirees’ rates and found “859 cops were diagnosed with cancer, with 11 having more than one case for a total of 870 diagnoses.” That represents “roughly 50 percent between 2002 and 2014 compared with the period between 1995 and 2001. Diagnoses included common cancers such as colon, prostate and female breast cancer.”
The study also found that:
- Cancer rates in general increased about 50 percent more between 2002 and 2014, compared with the period between 1995 and 2001. Diagnoses included common cancers such as colon, prostate and female breast cancer.
- About 56 percent of NY police with a cancer diagnosis served at Ground Zero within 24 hours of the attacks, when the toxic debris cloud was the most intense, and 81 percent served there at some point later.
- There were also additional increases in Malignant brain tumors and kidney cancer tripled since 2001. Thyroid cancer doubled and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma increased by about 50 percent.
- Only 16.5 percent of police with cancer were smokers.
After the World Trade Center was attacked and the towers fell, a huge layer of dust and debris floated over Lower Manhattan. Among this debris were carcinogenic particles and chemical, namely, asbestos (the Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that 300 to 400 tons of asbestos fibers were used to construct the World Trade Center). In addition, there was fiberglass, mercury, and benzene that was inhaled by first responders and survivors of this tragic attack.
The Twin Towers before the attack
Interestingly, but sadly, only a week after the attack, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said there was no long-term danger to their (first responders’) health. “I am glad to reassure the people of New York and Washington, D.C., that their air is safe to breathe,” EPA Administrator Christie Whitman said at the time.
Needless to say, this was totally incorrect and hasty opinions, based on early results can obviously lead to a dangerous conclusion.