The Lancet Medical Journal recently reported a federally funded study showing that firefighters who worked at ground zero after the Twin Towers fell have 10 percent more cancers than the general public and 19 percent more cancers than firemen not involved. According to CBS News, the lead author of the study, Dr. David Prezant, reported that there is a moderately strong association of cancer and working in the 9/11 rubble.
Within the dust clouds rising from the rubble, there was a combination of pulverized cement with asbestos, benzene, dioxin and other known causes of cancer. Fireman Ray Pfeifer states that he arrived on the scene just after the Twin Towers fell, and he worked in the “toxic soup” for seven months. Nine years later, his doctor diagnosed the firefighter with stage 4 kidney cancer that spread to his bones. Doctors removed part of his leg, hip and a kidney to eradicate the cancer. Firefighter John McNamara died of aggressive colon cancer in 2009, and his oncologist told the family that it may be related to his 9/11 exposure.
Though there is known exposure to asbestos in the rubble of the Twin Towers, other cancer experts state that there is still not enough evidence to know if the 9/11 exposure is the cause of these cancers. These first responders remain ineligible for federal money to treat their cancer.
Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP–Mesothelioma lawyers