Children Exposed to 9/11 Air More Likely to Develop Asthma
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posted: 2:25 PM, November 28, 2007 by Michael Clancy
It was bad enough when the only known casualties of the EPA's lies about the safety of the air downtown after 9/11 were first responders, now add children to that list.
Children who breathed the air downtown after 9/11 have increased instances of asthma as compared to other youngsters in the Northeast region, according to a new World Trade Center Health Registry report to be presented this evening by the city Department of Health. What's worse is that children exposed to the Twin Tower's toxic dust cloud were twice as likely as those just living downtown to develop asthma, the survey found.
The DOH said in a release:
According to the survey, half of the 3,100 children enrolled in the registry developed at least one new or worsened respiratory symptom, such as a cough, between 9/11 and the time of the interview....Prior to 9/11, asthma rates among child enrollees were on par with national and regional rates, but at the time of the interview, about 6% of enrolled children had received a new asthma diagnosis. Children exposed to the dust cloud following the collapse of the towers were twice as likely to be diagnosed with asthma as those not caught in the dust cloud, the survey found.
According to the DOH, "This survey included children under 18 years of age on 9/11/01, who lived or went to school south of Canal Street (preschool and K-12) or were south of Chambers Street on 9/11. The findings will be presented at the Second Annual Meeting of WTC Health Registry at Pace University this evening, but the DOH provided some further data.
Chart courtesy NYC DOH.
The rate of asthma prevalence among children age 2 to 4 in the Northeast is 7 percent, according to the DOH. The rate of asthma prevalence among children the same age exposed to the WTC disaster is 12.3 percent, according to the DOH. The asthma rate among children age 2 to 4 who were directly exposed to the dust cloud soars to 20.9 percent, the DOH survey found.
In the 5 to 11 age group, the Northeast asthma rate is 16.8 percent. The survey found a slightly lower rate, 15.7 percent, among those children in the same age group exposed to the air downtown. But for those caught directly in the dust cloud, the asthma rate climbs to 24 percent, according to the survey.
For more information about the survey and the city's World Trade Center Health Registry go to www.nyc.gov/9-11health