WTC Health Program | In The News
July 26, 2019
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office said Friday that he would host a parade – or another type of event – to honor the 9/11 first responders as President Donald Trump prepares to sign a permanent reauthorization of the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Act into law.
July 26, 2019
Mayor de Blasio should host a parade up the Canyon of Heroes to thank and honor 9/11 first responders and survivors, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said Friday and the mayor agrees something should be done to honor them.
July 26, 2019
Respect and tears silenced Pleasant Plains on a sunny Friday morning as family members, friends and police officers said their final goodbye to Det. Thomas Santoro, who lost his life to a 9/11-related illness on Sunday. Santoro, 53, leaves behind his wife and two sons, 17 and 15, who, for the first time in their lives, will not be with their dad during their annual family trips.
July 23, 2019
The Senate has voted 97-2 to approve a bill that will virtually ensure permanent funding for rescue workers whose work after the Sept. 11 attacks caused health problems. The House passed the bill last month, and Trump is expected to approve it, ending a years-long ordeal for the victims after concerns that the fund was on the verge of running out of money.
July 23, 2019
The people of Kentucky and Utah should be proud that they have senators representing them in Washington who upheld the honor of their states. Mitch McConnell and Mitt Romney voted with senators from every other state to make to make permanent the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund for first responders and others sickened by the toxic dust breathed in at the World Trade Center.
July 23, 2019
The Senate gave final legislative approval Tuesday to a bill ensuring that a victims’ compensation fund related to the Sept. 11 attacks never runs out of money. The 97-2 vote sends the bill to Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it.
July 22, 2019
Like thousands of other emergency responders, NYPD Det. Christopher Cranston dropped everything and rushed to Ground Zero in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001 after learning of the World Trade Center attacks. For six months after, he sifted through rubble at the former Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, amid the deadly toxins that have since caused the death of more than 2,000 people years after the national tragedy.
July 19, 2019
The 200th New York City firefighter has died from ailments stemming from working at the toxic World Trade Center site in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, according to city officials. Richard Driscoll, 73, died one day after the death of fellow firefighter Kevin Nolan.
July 18, 2019
FDNY Firefighter Richard Driscoll is the 200th FDNY member to die of World Trade Center illness, the department announced. He retired from Engine 91 in East Harlem in 2002. Driscoll responded to the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and worked tirelessly in the rescue and recovery efforts that followed.
July 17, 2019
Increased inflammation and immune response may partially explain the excess incidence of prostate cancer among first responders exposed to dust at the World Trade Center after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, according to a study recently published in Molecular Cancer Research. The dust from the World Trade Center contained known carcinogens, such as benzene, asbestos, and dioxins.
July 17, 2019
The city lost another firefighter to a 9/11 illness, officials said Tuesday — the 199th member of the FDNY to die of a Ground Zero-related sickness. Firefighter Kevin Nolan, 58, was part of the rescue and recovery effort following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, officials said.
July 15, 2019
Today, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) joined New York Senator Chuck Schumer, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and 9/11 first responders and health and compensation advocates to celebrate the overwhelming House passage of H.R. 1327: Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act.
July 12, 2019
Nearly two decades after several terrorist attacks killed thousands of people on American soil, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to effectively extend indefinitely the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF)—the pot of money provided to 9/11 first responders suffering from medical issues, including cancer, and which was scheduled to expire next year.
July 12, 2019
The House passed the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund bill to permanently fund cash payments for first responders, their families and others who were sickened at Ground Zero. The House voted 402-12 to advance legislation named after three 9/11 first responders who died from cancer-related illnesses linked to their heroics at Ground Zero: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer and Luis Alvarez.
July 11, 2019
Caryn Pfeifer admits she is not much of a public speaker. And she was happy to take a backseat to her husband, Ray Pfeifer, the vivacious New York City firefighter who, after developing stage 4 cancer linked to his time working amid the toxic fallout at ground zero, became renowned for his successful lobbying to get permanent health benefits for survivors of and responders to the 9/11 attacks.
July 10, 2019
Originally supplied with over $7 billion to compensate September 11 victims, first responders and surviving families, the fund has been rapidly depleted after a rash of new claims; Doug McKelway reports from Washington.
July 9, 2019
The 9/11 first responders health bill will get a full House vote Friday – and is expected to pass overwhelmingly. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced the scheduled vote Tuesday via tweet.
July 9, 2019
In the crush of chaos after two planes hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, Michael O’Connell raced from his home on Long Island in New York to his firehouse in Queens, where he was training as a probationary fireman for the FDNY.
July 4, 2019
On Sept. 11, 2001, as thousands were dead or dying in the terror attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania and Virginia, Michael O’Connell was one of the many who rushed in to help. O’Connell, then a 25-year-old probationary firefighter in New York, went to the World Trade Center’s twin towers as soon as they were attacked and subsequently spent weeks in lower Manhattan — breathing in the toxic air and fumes from the destruction as he worked through the pile of wreckage from the buildings, searching first for survivors and then their remains.
July 3, 2019
Luis Alvarez, a former New York City police detective who worked at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks and fought for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, was remembered for his "tenacity and resilience" at a solemn and emotional funeral on Wednesday. Alvarez, 53, a husband and father of three sons, died in hospice care from cancer on Saturday.
July 3, 2019
Nearly 18 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, more than 2,000 people have died of an illness related to the attacks. That figure was provided to the Seattle Times last year by The 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program.
July 2, 2019
Hundreds attended a Long Island wake Tuesday in honor of retired NYPD Detective and 9/11 first responder Luis Alvarez. Alvarez, who died Saturday of colorectal cancer, spent three months in the World Trade Center rubble after the 2001 attacks. His family is asking people to remember him by something he would always say: “take care of each other and take care of yourselves.”
July 1, 2019
As friends, family and colleagues prepare to lay Det. Luis Alvarez to rest, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he would honor the memory of the NYPD veteran — who succumbed to Ground Zero-related cancer at 53 years old — with a key to the city. The mayor was fulfilling a request from Alvarez's fellow 9/11 first responder John Feal, who appeared on CNN's New Day on Monday to speak about Alvarez after his death on Saturday.
June 29, 2019
As the first of the Twin Towers collapsed on September 11, 2001, retired FDNY Lt Walter F Malone of Commack jumped into his car, drove straight to the Commack Fire Department and boarded a truck with another firefighter to Ground Zero, where he worked on the pile for two months, his grandson said Saturday.
June 29, 2019
Luis Alvarez, a 9/11 first responder who recently testified before Congress about his 9/11-related medical issues, has died, his family confirmed Saturday morning. He was 53. "It is with peace and comfort, that the Alvarez family announce that Luis (Lou) Alvarez, our warrior, has gone home to our Good Lord in heaven today," family member Matt McCauley wrote in a Facebook post Saturday.
June 29, 2019
Luis G. Alvarez, a former New York City detective who pleaded with Congress this month to extend health benefits to police officers, firefighters and other emergency workers who responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, died on Saturday in a hospice in Rockville Centre, N.Y. He was 53.
June 26, 2019
A Middle Village pastor who played a major role helping a group of firefighters in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, died on Sunday. Father Michael A. Carrano, who served the Catholic Church for 39 years, was 74-years-old when he passed away after a battle with cancer.
June 26, 2019
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., met with 9/11 first responders on Tuesday after comedian and advocate Jon Stewart accused McConnell of having used the victim's compensation fund as a "political football." "McConnell made a commitment he's going to help get a piece of legislation that's going to pass the House in July for a vote in August in the Senate.
June 25, 2019
The higher incidence of prostate cancers in responders to the attacks in New York City that occurred on September 11, 2001, may be related to responders' exposure to the dust generated from the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers. This dust may have caused changes in inflammatory and immune regulatory mechanisms in prostate tissue, a new study suggests.
June 25, 2019
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today released the following statement after the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund permanent funding bill reached 60 cosponsors: “A bipartisan, filibuster-proof majority of the Senate has now cosponsored our bill to make the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund permanent. We have the votes for this bill to pass as soon as it comes to the floor. I urge Senator McConnell to not stand in the way and commit to a standalone, up-or-down vote on this legislation as soon as it passes the House.
June 24, 2019
Unlimited sick leave for NYC workers who were 9/11 First Responders, S.5890, passed the legislature in the final day of the session. The bill codifies access to unlimited sick leave for NYC workers who responded to 9/11 and ensures that it cannot be negotiated on a piecemeal basis by a Mayoral administration. The legislation, sponsored by State Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assembly Member Stacey Pheffer Amato, provides stability and guaranteed sick leave benefits for all who responded to 9/11.
June 24, 2019
A possible link between World Trade Center dust and prostate cancer in first responders has been found by researchers. Exposure to dust at the New York City site after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks triggered chronic inflammation in the responders' prostates, which may have contributed to their cancer, according to the Mount Sinai Health researchers.
June 24, 2019
After previously claiming former Daily Show host Jon Stewart was "all bent out of shape" about the need to reauthorize the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appears to be changing his tune.
June 23, 2019
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is meeting Tuesday with 9/11 first responders who’ve been pushing him to move aggressively to pass a new funding bill to care for Sept. 11 heroes and survivors, even as yet another of them lies dying.
June 20, 2019
Recent research has found that emergency responders for the World Trade Center (WTC) attacks are more likely to have prostate cancer and unique genetic expression. By analyzing prostate cancers from WTC emergency responders and analyzing the effects of WTC dust exposure in mice, these researchers have identified unique gene regulation tied to dust inhalation from the 9/11 attacks.
June 19, 2019
It’s been nearly 18-years since the World Trade Center towers collapsed on September 11, 2001. But the damaging effects of the resulting poor air quality are still felt today, causing health issues for first responders.
June 19, 2019
A cancer-stricken retired NYPD detective who implored Congress to extend a federal fund for those sickened at Ground Zero has landed in hospice care. Luis Alvarez was admitted a day after he testified to a congressional committee demanding that the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund be extended and fully funded.
June 18, 2019
When Jon Stewart gave an impassioned speech last week urging lawmakers to reauthorize funding for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, one of the retired first responders who accompanied him was Luis Alvarez, a former bomb-squad detective for the New York Police Department.
Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and sleep in the daily lives of World Trade Center responders
June 17, 2019
Sleep disturbances are common in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and can have major impacts on workplace performance and functioning. Although effects between PTSD and sleep broadly have been documented, little work has tested their day-to-day temporal relationship particularly in those exposed to occupational trauma.
June 17, 2019
Comedian Jon Stewart's viral testimony before Congress last week demanding compensation for 9/11 survivors was laced with indignation, rage and tears. In the moment, he was preaching to the choir (though several of the singers were missing from their seats): The House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously the next day to extend funding to 2090, and the full House is expected to follow suit.
June 15, 2019
They are the people whose plight brought comedian and activist Jon Stewart to tears during an impassioned appearance before Congress this week over funds for other ailing first responders to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. They bear lasting scars from their long hours of work in the pile of destruction that remained after the World Trade Center collapsed nearly 18 years ago.
June 13, 2019
According to a leading World Trade Center medical expert, there could be as many as 20,000 more cancers as a consequence of exposures to the contaminants that were released by the collapse of the Twin Towers and fires that burned for months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
June 12, 2019
The bill that permanently authorizes the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund passed out of the House Judiciary Committee unanimously on Wednesday. The move comes a day after former “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart shamed members of a Judiciary subcommittee, as only Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and four subcommittee members were present for testimony from 9/11 first responders.
June 11, 2019
Former "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart's demeanor on Capitol Hill Tuesday was vastly different from the one his fans were accustomed to seeing on Comedy Central. He was there to call for the reauthorization of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, which was established nine years ago to provide health care benefits to first responders and others in the community with illnesses related to the 2001 terror attacks.
June 11, 2019
What can bring together a Republican from farm country and a Democrat from midtown Manhattan? Our 9/11 heroes. On Sept. 11, 2001, 2,997 people were taken from us — killed just for living, working or being in United States.
June 9, 2019
Their heroism on 9/11 should not be forgotten. More than a half-dozen Capitol Hill lawmakers, including New York’s Democratic Reps. Jerry Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Carolyn Maloney, joined members of the Uniformed Firefighters Association to support a bipartisan effort to extend the Victim Compensation Fund until 2090.
June 9, 2019
Congressional leaders and FDNY firefighters gathered for a rally in Manhattan Sunday to help first responders who are dealing with 9/11-related illnesses and cancers. The event comes before critical vote on the Never Forget The Heroes Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
June 9, 2019
Sept. 11 first responders, emergency workers and civilians suffering from related illnesses and the families of those who have died since the attack are one step closer to knowing they will be compensated for their heroism.
June 9, 2019
New York Congressional delegation, including Jerry Nadler, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, along with representatives of the FDNY Firefighters association will give a “major” announcement about the 9/11 victim compensation fund Sunday.
June 9, 2019
The 9/11 victims compensation fund is expected to get crucial funding to help extend it for years when it finally hits Congress next week, it was announced at a Ground Zero rally on Sunday.
June 8, 2019
When the twin towers crumbled on Sept. 11, 2001, emergency personnel swarmed Ground Zero. They were followed by workers who spent nearly a year removing debris and recovering victims’ remains. Many have since become belated victims of the attacks, facing conditions such as respiratory complaints, rare cancers and mental-health disorders.
June 7, 2019
A Port Authority police officer known for his dedication and true grit has lost his long bout with a 9/11 related cancer, the agency said Friday. Police Officer William Leahy, who reminded colleagues of stoic western star John Wayne died at his parents’ home on Thursday — one month after what many hoped would be a life saving surgery, friends said. He was 49.
June 5, 2019
On Tuesday morning, the NYPD held its Medal Day Ceremony at its lower Manhattan headquarters, with special attention paid to the 47 gold Distinguished Service medal recipients who died from 9/11-related illnesses. Among those attending were family members of Lt. William Wanser III, who died in March 2018 of pancreatic cancer after working at Ground Zero.
June 3, 2019
Forty-seven cops who died of cancer linked to their work at Ground Zero and the Staten Island landfill after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and three cops who survived a shooting that claimed the life of a sergeant, will be honored at the NYPD’s annual Medal Day ceremony on Tuesday. The deceased being honored include former Chief of Detectives William Allee, who died from 9/11-related leukemia last May.
May 30, 2019
Officials were setting up early in the morning ahead of Thursday's dedication of a new 9/11 memorial honoring the hundreds of thousands who are sick or have died due to breathing in toxins from Ground Zero after the 2001 terrorist attack. Construction for the 9/11 Memorial Glade started late last year. The memorial forms a pathway that's 8 feet wide and 14 feet long, with six large stones, specifically designed to look bruised but not broken, symbolizing strength and the human spirit.
May 30, 2019
Every year on Sept. 11, relatives and friends of people killed at the World Trade Center return to the memorial that fills the footprints of the towers. The mayor, even presidential candidates, have joined them as the victims’ names are read. Many run their fingers over some of the thousands of names etched in bronze and wedge stems of flowers into the letters.
May 30, 2019
Every year on Sept. 11, relatives and friends of people killed at the World Trade Center return to the memorial that fills the footprints of the towers. The mayor, even presidential candidates, have joined them as the victims’ names are read. Many run their fingers over some of the thousands of names etched in bronze and wedge stems of flowers into the letters.
May 29, 2019
A group of New Yorkers made it clear Wednesday that New York is behind federal legislation that would guarantee victims of 9/11 get the help they need. City officials and community leaders gathered across from the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in lower Manhattan to call on the Congress to pass legislation that would provide funding for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) through 2090.
May 29, 2019
May 30, 2002, saw the Last Column reverently carried out from the World Trade Center site, marking the end of the recovery phase at Ground Zero. The column, like so many human bodies before it, came up from The Pit on a ramp that sloped down from the corner of Liberty and West Sts., angling east towards the center of the site below.
May 27, 2019
There’s a small group of North Jersey firefighters who volunteered in Lower Manhattan in the days that follow 9/11 who are starting to get sick — and forced to retire early. However, a gap in the New Jersey Pension system means those heroes are not getting their full benefits. Clifton Fire Lieutenant Bill Ricci discovered what was happening when he became seriously ill more than a decade after spending just one day volunteering to clear debris.
May 23, 2019
A bill ensuring that all victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- including first responders with 9/11-related illness -- receive compensation in the form of federal funds is one step closer to becoming law. Rep. Max Rose, who has been working to secure the support of his fellow freshman Democrats in the House of Representatives, announced Thursday that more than 290 co-sponsors are in place for the Never Forget the Heroes Act, guaranteeing the bill will get a vote in that chamber of Congress.
May 23, 2019
Clifton Fire Lt. William Ricci, a decorated firefighter and former Ground Zero volunteer, says he didn't want much: just a few more weeks of pay before he was forced to retire. On Wednesday, he got the news that the city had reconsidered his status and was granting him that time.
May 22, 2019
A doctor and a medical supplies salesman, both Long Islanders, were honored posthumously for their 9/11 service during an Albany ceremony that unveiled their names Tuesday on the Tree of Life EMS Memorial. Dr. Michael Guttenberg, of Jericho, was an FDNY emergency medical service fellow when the Twin Towers fell around him. He and his crew ran to safety, but he returned to look for victims at the scene for the next month.
May 22, 2019
A doctor and a medical supplies salesman, both Long Islanders, were honored posthumously for their 9/11 service during an Albany ceremony that unveiled their names Tuesday on the Tree of Life EMS Memorial.
May 22, 2019
The time for waiting is done. The time for action is now. Congress has argued about everything, dragged its feet on issues that really matter. It is time to act on this issue. Earlier this month, the New York Daily News reported that “steep cuts in the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund are turning out to be much worse than the 50 percent forecast earlier this year” and “in real life, some people are getting nothing.”
May 21, 2019
Long Island's Ground Zero heroes took their health care fight to Washington, D.C. today as the number of 9/11 first responders dying from toxic dust exposure grows. The responders are getting ready to lobby with lawmakers Wednesday to approve the Never Forget Heroes Act, which would permanently fund the cash-strapped 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. The bill is being spearheaded by several lawmakers, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Peter King.
May 21, 2019
In firefighters who responded to the World Trade Center on 9/11, high-intensity dust exposure and early symptoms were associated with an increased likelihood of evidence of emphysema, bronchial wall thickening and air trapping on CT scan, according to data presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference.
May 18, 2019
When September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Special Master Rupa Bhattacharyya saw the ever-growing numbers of people felled by illnesses caused by exposure to the toxic air at the World Trade Center, she had no choice but to reduce the monetary awards, especially with the fund due to expire next year.
May 17, 2019
Lt. Bill Ricci knows he will continue to have respiratory problems. He also knows it will be because of 9/11. Ricci, a professional firefighter in Clifton, Passaic County, wasn’t asked to respond to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. He volunteered to go to the scene alongside 87 other Clifton firefighters without blinking an eye.
May 17, 2019
The Protecting America's First Responders Act proposed by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has passed unanimously in the Senate. The legislation will change the way the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program calculates the benefits it distributes. The PSOB provides disability benefits for officers permanently injured in the line of duty and survivors of officers lost in the line of duty.
May 17, 2019
Nichole Gupton lost her fiance, Atlantic City police Officer Kevin Wilkins, eight months before their wedding day. Wilkins died from an accidental gunshot wound when he attempted to install a rubber sleeve on the grip of his semiautomatic pistol and the remaining bullet in the gun’s chamber discharged. He died in 2010.
May 17, 2019
The bill to renew the cash-strapped 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund is getting a major boost, with the backing of the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), who regularly spars with Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) on other issues, has formally added his name as a co-sponsor to the "Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act," his office confirmed.
May 17, 2019
A bill aimed at helping September 11th first responders has passed unanimously in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is one of the co-sponsors of the bill. The legislation will help erase some of the problems first responders and their families face when trying to get federal benefits.
May 12, 2019
Eighteen years later, Mike Nugent can’t forget how a week-long stint at Ground Zero shaped his life. The current special operations chief of Florida’s Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue holds the indelible memories of his work in the rubble of the World Trade Center’s South Tower, pulling the bodies of four FDNY members and two Port Authority victims from the nightmarish landscape during a September week at the toxic site.
May 12, 2019
The workers who spent their time helping with recovery efforts at ground zero are being commemorated on special-issue transit system MetroCards. The cards will be available starting Wednesday at 10 subway stations, mostly in the area of the World Trade Center site, the Daily News reported Sunday.
May 10, 2019
A new report shows the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund is being drained and is desperately in need of a cash infusion. As the number of cancers soar, the number of claims is skyrocketing. In the past year, the number of total claims jumped nearly 30 percent. There are now nearly 50,000 people who've applied for money because of 9/11-related illnesses.
May 10, 2019
Nearly 18 years after 23 NYPD officers died in the collapse of the World Trade Center, 9/11 remains the single biggest killer of officers in the nation's largest police force. Last year, 15 officers died of cancer and other illnesses contracted during their service on or immediately after September 11th. On Friday, their names and the names of 32 other officers who died in recent years from 9/11-related illnesses were added to the memorial at police headquarters. It's part of Peace Officers Memorial Day.
May 10, 2019
The number of people eligible for help under the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund is surging, even as the fund is running low on money, according to data released Friday. Statistics released by the Department of Justice, which runs the fund, say that 23,390 people are eligible for compensation because of their exposure to the terror attacks of 2001 — a jump of more than 1,000 since the end of December.
May 10, 2019
There is new information on the number of police officers who have died from 9/11-related illnesses. As the NYPD pays tribute to them on Friday, there's a renewed push to secure more money for the Victim's Compensation Fund. Commissioner James O'Neill is using the memorial ceremony as a call to action, demanding congress shore up funding for victims of the 9/11 attacks.
May 3, 2019
New York City Police Officer Patrick Thomas McGovern died Thursday after a two-year battle with cancer tied to his service as a first responder in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The longtime Pearl River, New York, resident was 43. He died at at Villa Marie Claire in Saddle River, New Jersey.
May 3, 2019
Nearly 18 years after the deadly 9/11 attacks in the United States, the death toll from that horrific series of events continues to rise. Firefighters, police, paramedics and FBI agents and experts are high among the list of first responders that are being added to thousands of victims killed on that fateful day.
May 2, 2019
May 2 marks the eighth death anniversary of one of the most controversial and feared men in the world: Osama bin Laden. As the founder and spiritual leader of pan-Islamic militant organization al-Qaeda, bin Laden orchestrated the September 11, 2001, attacks on four locations in the US that, to this day, remain the deadliest terror attacks in human history.
May 2, 2019
A team of researchers at Stony Brook University conducted a pilot study that suggests there may be a link between chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 9/11 responders and cognitive degeneration, leading to diseases like Alzheimer’s. Thousands of first responders and survivors from Ground Zero are still coping with 9/11-related illnesses such as PTSD.
April 29, 2019
The death this month of yet another FBI employee who responded to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and a looming deadline for 9/11 responders to sign up for some health-related benefits is leading to renewed efforts inside the Bureau to make sure everyone who worked the expansive crime scenes in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania is plugged into the health resources available to them.
April 26, 2019
The political bickering that consumes Washington, D.C., and much of the nation has been a death knell for many bipartisan pieces of legislation that have come before Congress in recent years. Legislation, which in the past would have received the support of both parties, is now held hostage by one group or another in an attempt to leverage political power in a highly partisan House and Senate.
April 21, 2019
FDNY firefighter Henri Gaudin Jr seemingly had the perfect life: he was about to become a dad of twins, he had a great job and a deep commitment to community and family that prompted him to buy an entire building in New Jersey for his mother to launch her dream of a social services center for low-income people in need.
April 18, 2019
The New York Police Department on Wednesday announced the death of a detective who is believed to have died of a 9/11-related illness. Detective Lisa Rosado, who recently retired from the NYPD’s Real Time Crime Center, died, a senior NYPD official announced on Tuesday.
April 18, 2019
Lt. John McArdle was about to retire, using up accrued paid time off when two airliners crashed into the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001. He got in his car and ended up by City Hall. By Sept. 12, he was leading the Ground Zero command center. The officer with the NYPD's Emergency Services unit remained at the site for a month a half.
April 15, 2019
US Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced Monday bipartisan legislation to update the first responders federal benefits program so that first responders and their families can receive full benefits.
April 15, 2019
This time, Congress actually may be answering the call of ailing 9/11 responders and others who are still getting sick and dying 18 years after hijackers perpetrated the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history. A bill that would permanently extend the expiring 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund has just surpassed the number of backers it needs to pass in the House of Representatives, according to an announcement by the bill's three lead sponsors.
April 12, 2019
Under the arched ceilings of a majestic red-brick church where the stained glass windows bathed the sanctuary in a pastel glow, New York bid farewell on Friday to another firefighter who died in the line of duty. The difference is that Lt. Timothy O’Neill did not perish inside a burning building.
April 9, 2019
A veteran of the FBI who re-established emergency communications in the wake of 9/11 was laid to rest Tuesday, the seventh employee from the Bureau to die from an illness related to toxins at the Pentagon crash site.
April 9, 2019
Right after the Twin Towers were leveled on September 11, 2001, New York volunteer firefighter Dan Moynihan went to work in the rubble at Ground Zero. “It was 10:40 in the morning and black as night. It looked like it was 10:40 at night,” he said, remembering the dust that filled the air. He spent a month digging through what was called "The Pile," searching for survivors.
April 7, 2019
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum in Lower Manhattan is designating a pathway to honor those affected by 9/11-related illnesses. The pathway, called the 9/11 Memorial Glade, will be flanked by six stone monoliths that were installed Saturday. The stones, weighing 13 to 17 tons each, point skyward to symbolize strength and determination through adversity.
April 6, 2019
Three retired FDNY firefighters suffering from 9/11 illnesses died within 48 hours this week as the number of those succumbing to lethal toxins at Ground Zero continues to swell, officials and 9/11 survivor advocates said Saturday. Retired FDNY Lt. Timothy O’Neill died on April 2 and Firefighter Kevin Lennon died on April 4 from 9/11-related cancers — nearly 18 years after responding to the terror attacks.
April 1, 2019
Arlene Howard, the mother of a Port Authority police officer killed on Sept. 11, 2001, and a symbol of a nation's grief after presenting President George W. Bush with her son's shield days after the attacks, died Sunday. The longtime Hicksville resident died of congestive heart failure in Virginia Beach, Virginia, her family said. She was 95.
March 31, 2019
Thomas Wilson rarely left Ground Zero in the dizzying month following the attacks of September 11, 2001. A New York City police sergeant at the time, Wilson spent his days sifting through the tangled, charred rubble of the World Trade Centre.
March 31, 2019
Two dozen city workers have finally been granted unlimited sick leave as they fight the illnesses linked to their time at Ground Zero — as critics hammer Mayor de Blasio for doling out the much-needed help on a chaotic, piecemeal basis, the Daily News has learned.
March 27, 2019
A group of 20 9/11 first responders lobbied in Congress Wednesday to drum up support for more funds as the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund runs dry. The group spent Tuesday night preparing and then walked the halls of Congress for hours Wednesday morning trying to sell the bill. Retired city cop Matthew McCauley consulted with a fellow responder for a meeting with a Senate staffer.
March 26, 2019
A mesothelioma lawsuit currently making its way through the New York City Asbestos Litigation courts provides the perfect snapshot of how dangerous asbestos is. The case involves Mrs Albina Licul, a 73-year-old woman who was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma on May 11th, 2015.
March 19, 2019
Exposure to dust in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks increased the risk of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) among responders, according to an evaluation of self-reported surveys. Researchers found that higher levels of dust exposure were associated with increased PF incidence.
March 5, 2019
The physical and cognitive health of 911 World Trade Center responders remains a concern for healthcare professionals who care for the thousands of responders, many of whom continue to experience conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
February 25, 2019
A group of 9/11 first responders and their supporters will hold a rally Monday in Washington, D.C. They're fighting to have the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund replenished after learning the program is running out of money.
February 24, 2019
This Monday comedian Jon Stewart and the advocates for hundreds of thousands of World Trade Center first responders and survivors will be in the nation's capital to kick-off a national lobbying effort to get Congress to pass permanent funding for the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.
February 24, 2019
This is what we mean when we say "never forget." This year will mark the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives that day. The World Trade Center buildings were destroyed. The Pentagon was severely damaged. America launched a global war against terror. The attack changed the way that we travel forever.
February 22, 2019
Nearly half of the 15,000 FDNY firefighters, officers and medics who were working on 9/11 - and survived - have gotten sick from their exposure to the toxins that swirled around the World Trade center site, union officials said Friday.
February 22, 2019
The fight for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund is heating up, with hundreds of New Yorkers ready to march on Capitol Hill on Monday. They're calling on lawmakers to stop sharp cuts to the fund which could impact first responders like retired NYPD Detective Glen Klein from Centerach, who has contracted multiple afflictions from several weeks spent digging through the rubble of Ground Zero.
February 22, 2019
Thousands of people who breathed in the World Trade Center toxic dust have been getting sick at alarming rates because of their exposure to deadly World Trade Center toxins. The Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), which has provided financial help to thousands of injured and ill 9/11 responders and survivors, recently announced cuts in pending claims of 50 percent, and cuts in future claims of up to 70 percent.
February 16, 2019
Under the law setting up the federal 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, Special Master Rupa Bhattacharyya is required to carefully husband the $7.375 billion that Congress allocated for those sickened and killed by exposure to the toxic air at the World Trade Center site.
February 16, 2019
Future payments to victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks will see a decrease in the amount of awards after a large increase in claims. Rupa Bhattacharyya, the special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, said in a statement Friday that the $2.375 billion left in the fund will not be enough to fully pay an estimated 19,000 remaining claims.
February 15, 2019
The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is halving its payouts to people made sick or dying as a result of the toxic dust and pollutants unleashed by the 2001 terror attacks because it is running out of money, the Justice Department said Friday.
February 15, 2019
New Yorkers who survived 9/11 only to be sickened by the toxic dust swirling around Ground Zero were stunned to learn Friday that the federal government will be cutting compensation payouts as much as 70% - fearing that the decision will leave scores of ill survivors with little to live on.
February 15, 2019
The September 11th Victims Compensation Fund (VCF) is making "significant reductions" in awards to first responders because it is running out of money. The fund will be cutting future payouts in half, some as much as 70 percent -- a decision the special master acknowledges is "horribly unfair."
February 15, 2019
Like everyone in the 9/11 community, I anxiously awaited Friday's announcement of the new policies and deep financial cuts to current and future claims to the Victim Compensation Fund. These catastrophic reductions, while necessary at this time, are a devastating blow.
February 15, 2019
The 9/11 fund is running out of money, and will slash payments by at least half for growing numbers of people getting sick or dying from the toxins unleashed in the terror attacks of 2001, officials announced Friday. People who discovered their illness or got sicker later - applying after Feb.
February 15, 2019
The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund plans to cut future payouts in half - and in some cases by as much as 70 percent - as it struggles with a surge of new claims from those who have gotten sick and the families of those who have died, officials announced Friday.
February 4, 2019
Since the September 11 attacks in 2001, thousands of people who worked on the post-9/11 recovery efforts have been sickened with, or have died from, illnesses related to their time spent at the World Trade Center. And in the spring-on the 17th anniversary of the date that the recovery effort officially ended-those workers.
February 2, 2019
Work is underway at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum to create a site honoring rescue, recovery and relief workers as well as survivors and downtown residents who got sick or died from 9/11-related illnesses. The tribute will be located at the Memorial Glade at Liberty and West streets.
February 1, 2019
Head and neck cancers among a group of first responders to the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks are significantly higher than expected, a new study says. Rutgers University researchers found that diagnoses of these cancers increased 40 percent in a group of WTC workers and volunteers over a four-year period.
January 13, 2019
A former city police officer who died from 9/11-related brain cancer was honored in Manhattan on Saturday. More than 75 people gathered for the 23rd Precinct's annual alumni party at Twins Irish Pub on Ninth Avenue to remember Larry Rivera.
January 11, 2019
On Sept. 11, 2001, New York City firefighter and longtime Long Beach resident John Moschella was living in East Atlantic Beach when he watched the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center unfold on TV.
December 30, 2018
They survived the most horrific terror attack in our nation's history - but may not make it through another year. Nearly 40 people who either responded to, or lived and worked near the twin towers when terrorists brought them down 18 years ago, have died from a 9/11-related illness since September, health care advocates told the Daily News.
December 27, 2018
Fifteen police officers died in 2018 from cancers related to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, according to a new report. The 9/11-related deaths were part of an overall uptick in fatalities among law enforcement officers this year.
December 17, 2018
One of the World Trade Center Health Program's top doctors says that as Congress contemplates a reauthorization of the 9/11 Victim's Compensation Fund, it must right a wrong baked into the original program, which is set to expire at the end of 2020 and may run out of money before that.
December 17, 2018
A first responder who battled flames on Sept. 11 in New York says toxins he inhaled then as a New York Police officer led to his early retirement after joining Richmond Police. Darin Pappeo moved to Richmond in 2003. He was a police officer until this past June when his health started to take a bad turn.
December 13, 2018
On the morning of September 11, 2001, eight-year-old Amy Gaines' father, Scott, dropped her off at the school bus stop. It was supposed to be the first day of his last vacation before his retirement after 20 years as a New York City police officer.
December 11, 2018
John Mormando leaves his Times Square office a bit early each day to head downtown. The Oakland, New Jersey, resident is wrapping up radiation treatments on the heels of chemotherapy and surgery after his March diagnosis - with breast cancer.
November 23, 2018
A beloved FDNY emergency medical technician who was as strong as the muscle cars he adored died early Friday following a long battle with a 9/11-related illness, friends and family members said. EMT Joseph Rodriguez succumbed to lung cancer at a Melville, L.I., hospice facility Friday morning.
November 16, 2018
A Department of Homeland Security special agent died Oct. 27 from cancer he developed due to exposure to toxic substances he encountered while responding to the Sept. 11 attacks. ODMP reported Special Agent Dennis P. McCarthy, 65, helped secure the U.S. Custom House at the World Trade Center after it was destroyed on 9/11 and stayed to assist with recovery efforts.
November 8, 2018
First responders who died of Ground Zero-related illnesses are eligible for a federal medal honoring September 11 heroes under a new law signed by President Trump. The law, introduced last year by Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens), makes firefighters, cops and emergency service officers fatally sickened by the toxic debris pile eligible for the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor.
November 6, 2018
Some 17 years after he served at Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks, retired NYPD officer Anthony Hanlon died October 21, joining the increasing ranks of public servants who have succumbed to 9/11-related cancer. Hanlon, who grew up in Merrick, died a day before his 50th birthday of multiple myeloma, said his brother.
November 5, 2018
When World Trade Center health issues make headlines, the stories are usually about first-responders who played a documented role in the rescue and recovery activity at the site. There are also dozens of offices for Federal, state, and municipal agencies located within lower Manhattan and portions of Brooklyn on streets that public-health officials have said were contaminated.
November 3, 2018
The legacy of a beloved father and grandfather - also an FDNY firefighter killed on September 11, 2001, who had completed four New York City Marathons by the time he died - will serve as inspiration and motivation for two Deer Park sisters and their uncle in the Sunday trek through the five boroughs.
October 29, 2018
People directly exposed to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks appear at increased risk of drug- and alcohol-related death, a new study finds. "Following a major disaster, alcohol- and drug-related mortality may be increased," said Dr. Jim Cone and colleagues of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
October 24, 2018
New York City will grant unlimited sick leave to about 2,000 medics, laborers, engineers and other municipal workers who contracted illnesses from working at Ground Zero in the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to the mayor's office.
October 23, 2018
On Sunday's Shark Tank audiences and sharks alike were moved by one particularly tragic and compelling story. The Cup Board Pro-a new kind of cutting board-was pitched to the sharks by the children of its inventor, Keith Young.
October 22, 2018
While members of the NYPD and FDNY suffering from 9/11-related illnesses can take advantage of unlimited paid sick time, other civilian workers like EMTs and traffic agents don't have that benefit. Now city officials are urging Mayor Bill de Blasio to change that.
October 22, 2018
There wasn't a dry eye in Sunday's "Shark Tank." Kaley, Christian and Keira Young may have wowed the sharks with their late father's invention, but it's the Young family's story that broke their hearts. “It was his dream to pitch it on 'Shark Tank,' ” Kaley said of the Cup Board Pro, a chopping board with a detachable bowl for easy cleanup.
October 17, 2018
NYPD civilian traffic agent Linda Mercer is among the hundreds of city workers who labored at Ground Zero in the bleak days after 9/11 - and years later, fell ill with a terminal illness. But unlike the many civil servants who share her fate, Mercer - diagnosed with an inoperable cancer - won't spend her final days with family at home.
October 15, 2018
An FDNY medic who labored at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks has died, officials said. Emergency Medical Technician Felipe Torre, 54, succumbed to Ground Zero-related gall bladder cancer Wednesday at his brother's house in Inwood, N.Y. where he was under hospice care, the FDNY and his family said.
October 15, 2018
Where were you when you heard about the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001? Though everyone has a different story to tell, we were all traumatized as we watched the events of that day unfold on television.
October 12, 2018
Emergency first responders, residents and workers who have been diagnosed with cancer and other illnesses linked to the 9/11 terror attacks could be granted access to a permanent compensation fund under proposed new legislation.
October 8, 2018
The names of more than two dozen firefighters are being added to the New York State Fallen Firefighters Memorial in downtown Albany. The state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services' Office of Fire Prevention and Control is holding the 21st annual ceremony starting at 11 a.m. in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center.
October 5, 2018
Well over a year after Governor Cuomo signed legislation requiring state agencies, authorities and municipalities outside of New York City to honor sick-time requests by their employees fighting World Trade Center-related certified health ailments, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is still not complying with the law, according to union officials.
October 2, 2018
The head of the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund just verified what so many have feared: The catastrophic human cost from 9/11 could outlast the money set aside to help those who continue to fall ill from the toxins the terrorist attacks released.
September 27, 2018
Government officials can face difficult decisions. Here's one that isn't: choosing to give unlimited paid sick leave to public workers made ill by their service after the September 11 attacks. Yet thousands of state and local government employees in New York who were exposed to the toxic dust from the attacks are not getting that benefit, even after the state passed a law last year meant to guarantee it to many of them.
September 20, 2018
In the weeks after the September 11th attack, construction worker Tim Gleason was across the street from the World Trade Center trying to get the World Financial Center up and running. The 53-year-old says he was once a smoker, but believes the toxic air he breathed is responsible for the prostate cancer.
September 11, 2018
Rob Serra was just 21 and had not even started in his new job as a New York City firefighter when terrorists brought down the World Trade Center's twin towers on September 11, 2001.
September 11, 2018
Male Breast Cancer Linked to September 11 Attack.
September 10, 2018
Fewer than 1,000 federal agents and other employees who worked at Ground Zero or whose offices were in the federal buildings that dot lower Manhattan have registered with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
September 9, 2018
It has been 17 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Thousands of first responders are still dealing with the health effects as a deadline looms near for the government funded Victim Compensation Fund.
September 8, 2018
Bridget Gormley was grateful when her firefighter dad arrived safely home after 9/11. But then the cancer diagnosis came.
September 7, 2018
There have been more than 7,500 cancer cases with more than 350 first responders having died from 9/11-related illnesses, according to the World Trade Center Health Program. And to date, more than 20,000 people have registered for health monitoring and benefits.
September 7, 2018
Helaina Hovitz Regal was in middle school in lower Manhattan when 2 planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. In the ensuing chaos, she and her classmates evacuated under orders to cover their mouths to avoid inhaling the soot and smoke that hung in the air.
September 6, 2018
Seventeen years out from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, nearly 10,000 first responders and others who were in the World Trade Center area have been diagnosed with cancer. More than 2,000 deaths have been attributed to 9/11 illnesses.
September 4, 2018
As Americans prepare for the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, nearly 10,000 first responders and New York City residents have reported 9/11-related cancers. In early August the New York Post reported on newly released numbers of reported 9/11 related illnesses.
September 4, 2018
The 9/11 attack has produced another health nightmare - at least 15 men who were in the vicinity of Ground Zero defied astronomical odds and have been stricken with breast cancer. Men account for only 1 percent of all breast cancers nationally.
August 30, 2018
FBI Agent Dave LeValley was driving to work in Manhattan when he saw the first jetliner strike the World Trade Center on a bright September morning 17 years ago. He quickly parked his car and sprinted to the scene, where he scoured for evidence and helped survivors.
August 17, 2018
Officer Kathleen O'Connor died Thursday from a 9/11-related illness, the city's police department announced today. She was 56. "In the end, her dignity, good spirits and courage were intact and unbreakable," said Detective Christopher Greco, of the city's Police Benevolent Association.
August 17, 2018
Chuck McLiverty, a retired detective with the New York Police Department, lives with skin allergies, a crushed hand, and painful memories nearly 17 years after responding to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
August 14, 2018
Many types of cancer have been reported among the life-threatening illnesses that have attacked hundreds of thousands of people who were in the vicinity of Ground Zero after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. And now there is a big push to find organ donors for those suffering from 9/11-related illnesses.
August 14, 2018
Actor Ron Perlman's brother-in-law worked just three blocks away from the World Trade Center when the towers came down, and exposure to the poisonous air around Ground Zero left him with kidney disease, he says.
August 12, 2018
Nearly 10,000 people have suffered cancers linked to the toxic dust and smoke resulting from 9/11. With the 17th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks a month away, the federal World Trade Center Health Program has counted 9,795 first responders and other New Yorkers with cancer deemed 9/11-related.
August 11, 2018
The city is approaching a terrible milestone - nearly 10,000 people have suffered cancers linked to the toxic dust and smoke at Ground Zero, The Post has learned. With the 17th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks a month away, the federal World Trade Center Health Program has counted 9,795 first responders, downtown workers, residents, students and others with cancer deemed 9/11-related.
August 9, 2018
The federal government has hired Eden Prairie-based Optum to operate a new clinic in Manhattan for survivors of the 9/11 attacks who have enrolled in an ongoing health program. The clinic, which is expected to open this month, will be run by the Optum business.
July 30, 2018
For some of those working in the New York City medical examiner's office, the events of 9/11 are relived constantly. It cannot be otherwise when their task, nearly 17 years after the attacks on the World Trade Center, is to put names to unidentified remains.
July 29, 2018
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut says he plans to introduce a resolution that calls for declassifying all remaining documents related to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Democrat is scheduled to appear Monday at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford with survivors and families of the 9/11 victims.
July 25, 2018
The city's medical examiner's office identified Wednesday the remains of a victim who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Scott Michael Johnson, who was 26 when he perished, worked as a securities analyst at the office of the investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, which was located on the 89th floor of the south tower.
July 25, 2018
Mark Desire estimates that his team had tried to identify the bone half a dozen times over the past 17 years - ever since it was recovered amid the rubble of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. Each time, they came up short.
July 24, 2018
The death of retired White Plains Fire Lt. Clark Douglass brings another 9/11 loss for our communities. And sadly, there will be more to come. Douglass died on July 21. He was 53. Douglass had joined in the rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero, one of about 60 White Plains firefighters who headed to the World Trade Center site to help their FDNY brethren.
July 21, 2018
Kelly Korchak was smart, observant and kind. Those qualities are part of what led to her desire to be a teacher - but when she repeatedly failed to find suitable work, she had to set her sights on something else.Her dad had some sage advice for her, as dads often do: Why not try taking the police exam and see where that led?
July 20, 2018
In the hours and days following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of people arrived at the crash sites to help in the response. It is estimated that more than 300 working dogs aided in the search, rescue, recovery or therapy work at Ground Zero.
July 11, 2018
A new study finds that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may increase the long-term risk for stroke and heart attack among many of those who helped clear debris after the World Trade Center attack in 2001.
July 10, 2018
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may increase the long-term risk for stroke and heart attack in blue-collar clean-up crews who worked in the aftermath of The World Trade Center plane attack on September 11, 2001, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.
July 9, 2018
The remaining wreckage of United Flight 93 has been buried near the Pennsylvania memorial marking where it crashed on 9/11. Four shipping containers holding the wreckage were buried in a private ceremony on June 21 in a restricted area accessible only to loved ones of the victims, the Flight 93 National Memorial said in a statement Monday.
July 8, 2018
John Vigiano Sr., a former Marine and decorated retired FDNY captain whose first responder sons lost their lives on 9/11, died Sunday after a battle with cancer, according to a family friend. He was 79.
June 27, 2018
A bipartisan effort by four members of New York's Congressional delegation has helped scuttle a move by President Donald Trump's administration to transfer a program handling critical health care issues for 9/11 first responders, according to Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford).
June 25, 2018
Over the past several years, more and more volunteers from the World Trade Center disaster have been diagnosed with cancer, linked to their exposure to the toxic smoke and fumes rising from the rubble. One of those people is Michael Dorian.
June 20, 2018
For all of us who remember the devastating attacks and the aftermath of September 11, 2001, last week's opening of 3 World Trade Center is yet another sign of New York's remarkable strength and resilience.
May 25, 2018
Thomas Wilson was a sergeant at the NYPD's 90th Precinct, covering Williamsburg and Bushwick in Brooklyn, on Sept. 11, 2001. He helped shut down the Williamsburg Bridge as part of a virtual army of police, firefighters and others who answered the ultimate call to duty.
May 22, 2018
Lt. William Gleason was awake for six straight days following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as he worked to rescue people from the rubble of the World Trade Center. As he worked, Gleason, then a member of the New York City Fire Department, did not know he was exposing himself to toxins that would affect his life forever.
April 26, 2018
Very few people grow up and get to do what they dreamt about as a kid. Matt Adamek is one of them. "My dad was a firefighter so technically we call it going into the family business, I became a firefighter and I loved it" explains Matt.
April 22, 2018
Three New York congressional representatives are asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate reports that scammers are posing as Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund staffers to get first responders' and survivors' personal information.
April 10, 2018
This study is important for WTC survivors and the feld of therapy at large. It provides a unique, Spanish-translated, cost-efective, mind-body therapy that helps many mental health and physical health issues.
April 2, 2018
We completed a study that looked at ways to cope with the impact of 9/11 and their recovery work in WTC responders. Learning more about which coping strategies are frequently used by WTC responders who are less distressed (feeling better) can help focus treatment for PTSD in the WTC population and lessen PTSD symptoms. It may also help guide future treatment for PTSD in rescue and recovery workers.
March 22, 2018
Regular self-care can increase our sense of well-being and prevent burnout among caretakers. Self-care is a crucial part of wellness, especially for people who take care of others in their home and/or work-life.
March 10, 2018
Getting enough good quality sleep is essential to your health and wellness. A good night's rest can also help build your resilience. Resilience is a type of inner strength that helps you bounce back and push through a hard or stressful situation. To improve overall sleep, it is important to address poor sleep behaviors that make sleep worse and treat problems such as sleep apnea (when breathing stops and starts multiple times during your sleep), chronic rhinosinusitis (nasal infammation that may make breathing through your nose difcult) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
February 29, 2018
Here are two sample RR elicitation exercises. At first, most people find it helpful to practice these exercises in a quiet place, with minimal distractions. You can however use these exercises any time or any place to help cope with stress. You may spend as little or as much time on these exercises as you like. For optimal benefit, however, try to build up to practicing an RR exercise 10-20 minutes a day.
February 18, 2018
Evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs), such as Prolonged Exposure and Cognitive Processing Therapy, are generally the first-line interventions for PTSD. Unfortunately, many Veterans still have diagnosable PTSD following EBPs (Steenkamp, Litz, Hoge, & Marmar, 2015) or prefer to try other strategies (Markowitz et al., 2016).
February 14, 2018
PTSD is unique among mental health disorders in that sleep problems represent two of the diagnostic criteria of the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5); recurrent nightmares are part of the intrusion cluster of symptoms, and insomnia is a component of the arousal cluster.
February 13, 2018
Despite the rich history of group treatments for PTSD, there is a surprising lack of methodologically rigorous studies in this domain. We know that at one point, “rap groups” were seen to be the treatment of choice for Vietnam Veterans (Foy et al., 2000) and support groups still play a significant role in many agencies that serve trauma survivors, including Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) settings (Hundt, Robinson, Arney, Stanley, & Cully, 2015).
February 11, 2018
Telemental health technologies such as clinical video teleconferencing (CVT), web-based interventions, and mobile devices offer innovative mechanisms for delivering mental health services to trauma survivors. Only a small proportion of individuals in need of psychological care actually receive treatment and individual psychotherapy alone is not likely to be able to fully meet that need (Kazdin & Blase, 2011).
January 9, 2018
Shortly before he died, a New York State trooper hoped to perform one last act of service for his community. Mike Anson knew he was dying, but he wasn't thinking about himself. He was worried about every first responder from 9/11. His message? “Don't be afraid to go get some help.” Mike was there right after the towers fell, helping and breathing in those toxic fumes. For 15 years, he seemed fine. But then, aggressive cancer hit him.
January 9, 2018
A memorial stands in honor of those who perished in 9/11 but some even right here in the Capital Region are still fighting for their lives. Asthma and cancer are just some of the conditions the CDC reports that 9/11 first responders are plagued with today after breathing in dust and fumes from the debris there. Kevin Terry was part of a group from the Capital Region that headed to the city to help.
December 6, 2017
The World Trade Center Health Program (WTC Health Program) provides medical monitoring and treatment for responders to the WTC and related sites in New York City, Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA, and survivors who were in the 9/11 New York City disaster area.
September 20, 2017
On 9/11 this year, we mourned the deaths and celebrated the heroism of the 3,000 men and women who were killed by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. One hundred one residents of Westchester County were killed in the attack; 11 Putnam residents; 44 Orange County residents, and 80 more in Rockland County.
September 11, 2017
Today marks 16 years since the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. On this day day of remembrance, we mourn for those lost in the attack and affirm our commitment to those living with 9/11 - related physical and mental health conditions.
July 17, 2017
First responders and survivors of the September 11 terrorist attack in New York City are suffering from an increased long-term risk of asthma, other respiratory diseases and heart attacks nearly 16 years after the tragic event. A new study conducted by researchers at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene shows those who were exposed to the dust cloud or suffered physical injuries during the attack are seeing increased problems 10 to 11 years later.
May 9, 2017
Sixty police officers died in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. In the 16 years since the terror attacks, 144 more officers have died from illnesses tied to Ground Zero search and recovery. Last year was the deadliest for the New York City Police Department, with 33 officers dying from 9/11-related illnesses.
September 7, 2016
When Placido Perez closes his eyes, he can still see the World Trade Center towers beneath him. On weekends, he would sometimes fly his red-and-white Cessna along the Hudson River, taking selfies with the towers in the background, stark against a cerulean sky. "I still look at the pictures all the time," he says. "I remember the good times. It's what gets you through." Perez also has pictures he took of the September 11, 2001, attacks. He was standing at the base of the towers that morning with a digital camera, not far from where he worked as a manager at a telecommunications company.
September 1, 2016
Researchers from the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program presented their findings on Wednesday about the effects of 9/11 on responders and survivors involved in the New York City attack. The WTC Health Program provides healthcare and monitoring for responders and survivors at the WTC, the Pentagon, and the crash site near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
September 1, 2016
After Mary Fetchet lost her 24-year-old son Brad during the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, the Licensed Clinical Social Worker vowed to do whatever it takes to help families heal after Tragedies.
August 1, 2016
On the 14th anniversary of 9/11, The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) in collaboration with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, released "Health and Hardship: Untold Stories from 9/11's Unsung Heroes." The report is a compilation of first-person accounts from 9/11 responders who recall their experiences and later managing their WTC-related health conditions.
October 25, 2015
Dennis Frederick is going to court to prove that a dog has saved his life. The retired Port Authority police sergeant became an emotional and physical wreck after a 22-year career that started with the shooting death of his first partner and ended on 9/11 at the World Trade Center.
October 23, 2015
Jon Stewart and 9/11 first responders, along with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, may have finally convinced Congress to fund a health care bill for recovery crews who worked to rescue victims at Ground Zero after the nation was attacked.
October 9, 2015
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, a long-awaited study has found.
October 8, 2015
At 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1, Congress missed an important deadline to reauthorize the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, and that, my friends, is totally unacceptable.
October 8, 2015
The James Zadroga Act was originally passed in 2010, and established the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
October 8, 2015
A few weeks ago, we all recalled and relived the harrowing moments of 9/11 on its 14th anniversary.
October 6, 2015
Following September 11, two federal programs were implemented and funded to help first responders and survivors of the attacks with their medical bills associated with the toxic dust they were exposed to.
October 6, 2015
Last month was the 14-year-anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.
October 5, 2015
None of us will ever forget the horrors of the awful terrorist attack that hit New York and Washington, D.C. on September 11th, 2001.
October 4, 2015
James Zadroga died in his childhood home on Jan. 6, 2006, with a chest full of deep scars and dust. He was 34.
August 9, 2015
The rising toll of Ground Zero responders and others afflicted with 9/11-linked cancers has hit 3,700. The staggering tally of those suffering cancers certified by the feds as 9/11-related includes FDNY members (1,100), cops and other Ground Zero responders (2,134), and survivors such as downtown workers and residents (467). Many have more than one type of cancer.
May 30, 2015
May 30 marks the anniversary of the end of the recovery and cleanup operations at the World Trade Center site when the last piece of debris - a misshapen steel column - was cleared in 2002. Thirteen years later, workers, volunteers and survivors can't clear their bodies of the toxic effects of 9/11.
April 27, 2015
The 18th annual Morganton Elk's Lodge Harley Raffle is being dedicated to a man who is not only last year's winner, but an American hero who encouraged people to "never forget" the heroes of 9/11. Ralph Geidel, who won a 2014 Harley-Davidson Super Glide Custom motorcycle at last year's raffle banquet, moved to Connelly Springs in April of last year to be closer to his son and grandchildren.
April 26, 2015
FDNY Chief Joseph Pfeifer has honored lives lost on 9/11, including his own brother's, by devoting his career since then to thwarting terrorists. "9/11 is part of history that is personal to every firefighter," he said. "It's about saving lives - no matter what occurs." Pfeifer was investigating a gas leak near Canal St. when the first hijacked jetliner roared overhead on that fateful morning. He watched it slam into the north tower.
April 26, 2015
As FDNY first responders come down with 9/11-related illnesses at an ever-quickening rate, one survivor battling stage-four cancer still calls it the best job in the world. And he's thrilled his son is following in his footsteps. "It was exciting from day one up to the last day I worked, every single minute," retired firefighter Ray Pfeifer told the Daily News. "I was proud every day to put that uniform on."
April 13, 2015
Today, advocates for 9/11 first responders and survivors released a deeply moving new video featuring Americans who are suffering from 9/11-related illnesses and need help from Washington. The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which was signed into law in 2011, will expire unless Congress takes action now to renew it.
April 4, 2015
After nearly a decade long fight to stand by our first responders who answered the call of duty on September 11th, Congress finally fulfilled its moral obligation in late 2010 and provided our 9/11 heroes with the health care and financial compensation they deserved by passing the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
October 7, 2014
September 11th responders and survivors who were diagnosed with certain cancers prior to October 12, 2012 must register for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund by October 14, 2014 or become ineligible for the program's benefits.
August 12, 2014
Just one month remains for first responders and volunteers who helped in 9/11 recovery efforts to register for future workers' compensation benefits with the state should they fall ill.
April 23, 2013
A major health study of 9/11 responders has found an increased risk of cancer, mirroring two prior investigations.
April 22, 2013
Cancer among 9/11 responders is 15% higher than among people not exposed to the Ground Zero toxins, a study by Mount Sinai Hospital's World Trade Center Health Program has found.