What the Investigators found out about dust from Ground Zero
.....many first responders to the 9-11 terror attacks seem to be getting sick or are dying at an alarming rate because of exposure to toxic chemicals. Tonight the Eyewitness News Investigators test items of clothing used by an angry responder. Jim Hoffer with his exclusive report.
An NYPD detective dies at age 34. An autopsy links his death to dust exposure at Ground Zero. An FDNY medic dead at 41, doctors point to his "exposure to the World Trade Center disaster." ......
Patrick Bahnken, Pres. FDNY EMT Union: "The reality is we are dying quicker than medical science can catch up to us."
We ..... took his clothing to this lab to be tested for any toxic substances.
Patrick Bahnken, Pres. FDNY EMT Union: "It's not a coincidence, there is a common linking factor and that is the trade center and what you see on my shoes and on these clothes is exactly what people breathed in."
Environmental Testing Lab spent a week analyzing the clothing, running numerous tests to determine whether they contained any hazardous levels of heavy metals, which are known to cause lung damage.
Even though nearly five years had passed, contaminants were still found some at high concentrations.
Newman: "They are red flags because exposure to any of these substances at sufficient level would be cause for concern."
We asked industrial hygienist David Newman to interpret the lab findings.
Dust from the shoes and clothing contained several heavy metals including cadmium which can damage the lungs. It existed at two times the level that's considered hazardous in soil.
Newman: "It would be 100 percent above the trigger that would warrant a cleanup."
The lab also found mercury, linked to respiratory problems, at four times the level the state considers hazardous for soil.
David Newman, Hygienist: "Over a period of time evaporates. We are four years past 9/11 so I'm surprised to find any mercury."
Lead tested at two and a half times above the hazardous level. Chromium, known to cause lung disease, existed at ten times the level that would require a mandatory cleanup.
Newman: "These are toxic substances if they get in the air and if you breath them inhale them at sufficient concentrations and for significant periods of time they have the potential to do serious significant health damage." FDNY medic John Viciguerra believes the months he spent breathing in dust at Ground Zero has given him lung disease at age 38. No matter how many medications he needs or how many medical reports he gathers, the city has yet to acknowledge a Ground Zero connection.
John Vincingera, FDNY Medic: "I was denied workman's compensation. They told me that too much time had passed since 9/11."
The clothing we had tested for contaminants was worn by John's friend and colleague. The samples that tested high for heavy metals came from the same dust that he and thousands of others inhaled and that many now believe has made them ill.
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(Copyright 2006 WABC-TV)
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=investigators&id=4203468
