RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events Why did the Republicans deny 9/11 First Responders medical relief?

Jeff Rosenzweig began coughing about six months after he began volunteering at ground zero on Sept. 12, 2001.

He tried throat lozenges, but the cough seemed to just get worse. For awhile, "I couldn't stop coughing," said Rosenzweig, a chiropractor, registered nurse and former emergency medical technician who is co-owner of Monmouth Total Health Care in Eatontown. "It was irritating."

He went to the clinic at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI) in Piscataway in 2003 and was diagnosed with the "9/11 hack," also known as World Trade Center cough.

Since then, Rosenzweig, 52, has also been diagnosed with sinus problems, gastrointestinal issues and sleep apnea, he said.

Rosenzweig's case is typical. He's one thousands of paid and unpaid responders who developed health issues after being exposed to the smoke, dust and gases following the collapse of the twin towers, according to experts. Many are worried they may get cancer at some point, and initial studies suggest a link between 9/11 exposures and cancer.

In January, President Barack Obama signed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. The $4.2 billion law will cover health care costs for responders and others for five years and provide compensation for victims' families and people injured as a result of 9/11.

The law is named after a 34-year-old New York City police detective who suffered from respiratory problems after 9/11. He died in 2006.

MILLIONS OF TONS(AT)

Paul J. Lioy, director of the Exposure Science Division at EOHSI, said the vast majority of the 5 million to 10 million tons of material in the World Trade Center's twin towers turned to dust when they collapsed on 9/11.

"It was unprecedented in terms of the complex characteristics of the materials released," said Lioy, who wrote a book called "Dust: The Inside Story of its role in the September 11th Aftermath."

Most of the materials included gypsum, concrete and manmade fibers, such as glass. Contaminants in particles included quartz, chrysotile asbestos, zinc, iron and lead, according to a scientific article by Lioy and his colleague, Panos Georgopoulos.

The alkalinity, very large particles, thin fibers and gases were major contributors to what led to the World Trade Center cough and other health problems for workers who were there within first 12 to 72 hours after the collapse, Lioy said.

No one will ever know what gases were in the air because there were no devices to measure them, he said.

"People went into harm's way, but they went into harm's way because they were trying to rescue people," Lioy said.

LOTS OF SICK PATIENTS(AT)

Dr. Iris G. Udasin, professor of environmental and occupational medicine and director of the Clinical Center of Excellence for World Trade Center responders at EOHSI, said some people had respirators, but they were too cumbersome to use. Many people did not have the proper equipment, she said.

About 50,000 responders and probably an additional 100,000 or so people who lived in the ground zero area are sick, said Udasin.

Eleven clinical centers in New York City, Long Island and Piscataway have been established to treat 9/11 responders, according to the World Trade Center Health Program.

About 1,700 people have gone to the clinical center in Piscataway over the years, and many of them are still coming, Udasin said.

Some of the most common symptoms are linked to respiratory issues, including sinusitis, laryngitis and asthma, Udasin said. Many people also have gastrointestinal issues, such as gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD), she said. GERD results in stomach contents leaking back into the esophagus, irritating it, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Others have developed sleep apnea, Udasin said. Sleep apnea is when breathing stops or gets very shallow, interrupting sleep.

Many people also have mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, Udasin said.

"The typical person is not disabled from the World Trade symptoms, but they need to take medication and we need to monitor them to make sure they don't get worse," she said.

Udasin said "we can't make an association between cancer and World Trade at this point," but experts think they might have seen an elevated level of multiple myeloma. Researchers found eight cases of multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells, among 28,252 responders, according to a study that Udasin coauthored. Four cases -- an unusually high number -- were in men less than 45 years old, the study says.

"The finding underscores the importance of maintaining surveillance for cancer and other emerging diseases in this highly exposed population," the study says.

A recent federal review found that there's not enough evidence so far to add cancer to the list of World Trade Center-related health conditions. But cancer can't be ruled out at this point, the review says.

A recent study of 8,927 New York City firefighters showed "a modest excess of cancer cases."

VOLUNTEERING AT GROUND ZERO(AT)

Rosenzweig said he went to Ground Zero to provide medical care and other assistance to rescuers.

It was very dusty and the air quality was poor, he said.

He didn't wear a mask for the first couple of days he was there, he said. After that, he began wearing an N95 respirator -- until he moved indoors nearby, he said.

An N95 respirator filters at least 95 percent of airborne particles, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Rosenzweig said he spent a couple of days a week at Ground Zero for the first two weeks and one day a week after that until May 2002. He usually worked about eight hours a day, he said.

Six months after he began volunteering, "my wife was making me aware that I was coughing all the time and it was annoying her, and she kept saying, 'You gotta do something about that cough,'" he said.

Rosenzweig, who praised Udasin and the EOHSI clinical center, now takes medication for GERD. And his cough is 85 percent better than it was, he said.

He also uses Flonase for his sinuses and washes his nasal passages, he said.

But "sleep is still an issue," he said, adding that he wears a mask that blows air into his nose.

"At the time, I did what I thought was right," Rosenzweig said. "I just did my thing, did what I thought I had skills for. With that, I don't blame anybody for this."

"I think my wife is more concerned than I am," he said. "I would do it again. I just feel an obligation. I would do it again without hesitation."

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Contributing: New Jersey Press Media archives.

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9/11 RESPONDER ILLNESSES

The Mount Sinai World Trade Center Clinical Center of Excellence and Data Center in New York City evaluated more than 27,000 police officers, construction workers, firefighters and municipal workers over nine years following Sept. 11, 2001. Here are the results:

- 28 percent of patients had asthma, 42 percent had sinusitis and 39 percent had gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD).

- 42 percent of patients had abnormal lung function tests, which are signs of lung injury.

- 7 percent of police officers were diagnosed with depression, 9 percent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 8 percent with panic disorder.

- 28 percent of other rescue and recovery workers had symptoms of depression; 32 percent experienced PTSD symptoms and 21 percent had symptoms in line with panic disorder.

- Nearly 10 percent of rescue and recovery workers had asthma, sinusitis and GERD at the same time.

- 48 percent of rescue workers with asthma, 38 percent with sinusitis and 43 percent with GERD were also diagnosed with at least one mental health condition.

Source: Mount Sinai Hospital/Mount Sinai School of Medicine.