Official: 9/11 Health 'Warning'

(CBS/AP) The government's point man on Sept. 11 health programs said he is worried that an autopsy linking a retired detective's death to recovery work at ground zero may be a warning sign of other life-threatening cases.

Dr. John Howard also said it will take time to determine whether there is a scientific link between deaths and exposure to toxic dust. Some epidemiologists have said it will take 20 years or more to prove such a link. Howard, who is to meet in New York this week with congressional leaders about ground zero health issues, was tapped by the Bush administration in February to coordinate the federal response to ongoing Sept. 11 health programs.

That role took on greater urgency with the April release of retired Det. James Zadroga's autopsy, which concluded "with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of death in this case was directly related to the 9/11 incident." The autopsy said Zadroga died in January of respiratory failure caused by exposure to toxic dust.

The Zadrogas have not filed a lawsuit in connection with the death or their son, and have no intention of doing so, CBSNews.com's Stephen Smith reported in February. They hope to highlight the plight of other ground zero workers who have fallen ill.

Zadroga, of Little Egg Harbor, N.J., died in January of respiratory failure and had inflammation in his lung tissue due to "a history of exposure to toxic fumes and dust," wrote Gerard Breton, a pathologist at the Ocean County (New Jersey) medical examiner's office in the autopsy. The detective spent 470 hours after the attacks sifting through the twin towers' smoldering ruins, wearing a paper mask for protection.

Howard, whose day job is overseeing the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, told The Associated Press in a recent interview the autopsy was "worrisome, and we need to look further in this case."

Doctors and government officials worry Zadroga's death may be a so-called sentinel case, an early harbinger of future deaths from such exposure. "You have a particular case with characteristics that are unusual," Howard said. He cited Zadroga's relatively young age, 34, and diseased heart muscle. "Just based on that, you would say, gee, is this a sentinel case?" he said. "This may be a warning and requires attention and vigilance."

Howard said his primary goal is to find out how many ground zero workers are suffering ill effects.

"The first issue is treatment. That is primary," he said. Rep. Vito Fossella, R-N.Y., said he was pleased Howard is aggressively examining cases like the Zadroga death.

"Clearly and sadly, Detective Zadroga and perhaps others will be the first of a wave of those who become the secondary victims of 9/11, though they didn't go down with the towers," Fossella said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/24/health/main1541665.shtml

Five Years After 9/11, Lower Manhattan Residents Still Concerned About Health Issues

For thousands of residents living in Lower Manhattan, there was no escaping the dust, smoke and fumes in the days, weeks and even months following the September 11th attacks. And now, five years later, many still have real concerns over what could be happening with their health as a result. Health & Fitness Reporter Kafi Drexel has more, as NY1's coverage of the fifth anniversary of 9/11 continues.

Nelson Marty has lived in downtown Manhattan for nearly 30 years. But since the events of 9/11, he says his health just hasn't been the same.
“I am a runner. I have done the New York City Marathon twice. After 9/11, in 2002, my asthma re-manufactured itself,” he says. “Up until then I had no medication whatsoever.” Now he's taking Advair, an inhalable steroid meant to prevent asthma attacks, at least twice a day. It may seem like only a mild change, but doctors and community advocates say Marty serves as just one example among hundreds, if not thousands, of Lower Manhattan residents who could be suffering post-9/11 health woes.

“There are real concerns out there, especially in light of the catastrophic illness of the first responders, about what may be in store for residents in the future who were exposed significantly to the same hazards,” says Kimberly Flynn, Co-Coordinator of 9/11 Environmental Action. Dr. Joan Reibman heads the Bellevue Hospital World Trade Center Health Impacts Treatment Program, which assess and treat residents of Lower Manhattan.
“We did a study in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health looking at health in the residents the year after the event, and we were able to document a four-fold increase in new onset cough, and a six-fold increase in persistent wheezing in that population,” she says. While the health conditions of some of those people seemed to improve, Reibman says what's happening with resident's health now in 2006 is still very unclear.
“The question is how many of those people continue to have symptoms, and that's what we don't actually know,” she says. Reibman says what doctors need are more answers. She's hoping to get those answers from further inquiries made by the World Trade Center Health Registry survey.

But many residents argue, when it comes to 9/11 health concerns, they've been overlooked, and that the registry is not enough. And while they praise the work that clinics like Bellevue are doing, they'll be formally calling on federal officials to do much more. “What we need to see happen is we need for the federal government to make a commitment to fully fund a program that tracks and treats residents, office workers and students who were exposed to the World Trade Center pollution,” says Flynn.

In the meantime, many residents like Nelson Marty are making a point of staying diligent about their health on their own. “In another 10 years we don't know what's going to manifest,” he says. “That's why I keep checking myself. Every year I go for a full physical to make sure that if there is something I can catch it in time.”

- Kafi Drexel

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?&aid=62149