A Fallen Hero - Video Inside

Sept. 11 First Responders to Visit W.Va. School

http://wvde.state.wv.us/news/1780/

Posted: October 21, 2008

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – John Feal, founding president of the FealGood Foundation and a demolition expert who worked at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, will bring his message to Upshur County students and residents on Friday, Oct. 24. Feal and up to seven other first responders will meet with students at Buchannon Upshur High School beginning at 8:30 a.m. The group will meet with the community later in the day.

Feal, like 70 percent of 9/11 workers, suffers from post-9/11 illnesses. One of his feet had to be amputated after being crushed by an eight-ton steel beam. He also suffers from a respiratory syndrome called World Trade Center Cough and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Feal agreed to visit West Virginia after some Buckhannon-Upshur High School students contacted him via e-mail after watching a documentary in health educator Mateal Poling’s class. The documentary, Save the Brave, chronicles the daily struggles of 9/11 Ground Zero workers in the seven years since the attacks. Greg Quibell, one of the men featured, died of his injuries the day before the film’s premiere in New York.

“You have no idea how excited they were when Feal replied -- me too,” Poling said. “It is hard to imagine that these kids were only first and second graders on 9/11, but thanks to Feal’s efforts, our students are starting to have a better understanding of the profound effects of that day.”

Feal said he is “humbled and honored to meet such amazing Americans.”

“They are a reflection of the teacher who has taught them well,” Feal said. “Your resolve and testament is what makes great future leaders of this country. We look forward to coming to the great state of West Virginia to share our stories and tell of the thousands that need our help.”

The FealGood Foundation’s primary mission, according to its Web site “is to spread awareness and educate the public about the catastrophic health effects on 9/11 first responders, as well as to provide assistance to relieve these great heroes of the financial burdens placed on them over the last five years.” The foundation also works to create a network of advocacy on 9/11 healthcare issues.

For more information, contact Mateal Poling or Mikaela Poling at (304) 472-2155 or by e-mail at [email protected]. The FealGood Foundation’s Web site is http://www.fealgoodfoundation.com.

Logistics Health blames feds for delays in aid to 9/11 responders

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/314807

11/18/2008

LA CROSSE — Officials with Logistics Health Inc. on Monday blamed the federal government for delays in implementing a program to provide health care for responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Company officials, including former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, responded angrily Monday to a Wisconsin State Journal story that raised questions about Logistics Health's performance on an $11 million one-year contract with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), an agency that Thompson once headed.

The story quoted critics as saying that reimbursement for health-care costs and regular medical monitoring for more than 4,000 people enrolled in the program had lagged for months after the La Crosse-based company began handling the contract in July. Thompson, who is president of LHI, and other company officials had declined to talk about the contract before the story was published. It calls for LHI to provide health care and regular health monitoring exams to ailing 9/11 responders who live outside the New York City area.

In interviews with the State Journal and the La Crosse Tribune, Thompson and LHI officials insisted they were ready to care for the ailing responders "immediately" but that NIOSH had thrown up roadblocks. The company had declined to comment about the contract prior to the story's publication, saying a provision in the pact prohibited them from speaking to the press. However, NIOSH spokesman Fred Blosser provided the contract language, which required that the company get NIOSH approval before releasing any statistical information about the program.

Logistics Health chairman and CEO Don Weber said the company has decided to speak out. "I'm sick of being punched around and not being able to come back and say, 'Wait a minute.' Working with NIOSH has been very difficult. ... It's time we're taking a stand."

Weber and Thompson both insisted that Thompson had nothing to do with the federal contract being awarded to LHI. Thompson also chalked up delays in the 9/11 responder contract to NIOSH, not Logistics Health.

"NIOSH told us not to send out any letters (to enroll responders)," Thompson said. "That's what got screwed up — not LHI. They (NIOSH) are an agency that has serious problems."

Blosser said he's aware of a one-month delay that occurred after his agency asked LHI which consent form it planned to send out to responders.

"In August, our staff contacted LHI to say that we wanted to make sure that the enrollment form that LHI proposed to include in the information packet for responders was the correct and appropriate form for the purpose. Subsequently we learned that LHI had held off sending the packets after getting that message," Blosser said. "The packets then went out. The time lapsed was about one month."

LHI said it also ran into problems getting accurate contact information for the responders. So far, 3,019 of the 4,200 have been reached, officials said.

"A lot of the information was inaccurate," Weber said. "No address, no phone number."

Thompson also said once patients were enrolled, the company worked quickly to respond to their medical needs. He called LHI the "best in the business" at providing health care to large targeted populations. He called coverage of the contract delays "unfair."

Fassel Foundation donates $250K to 9/11 groups

http://blogs.nfl.com/2008/11/20/fassel-foundation-donates-250k-to-911-groups/

11/21/2008

Jim Fassel watched from the roof of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey as the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan collapsed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Fassel, who was head coach of the Giants in 2001, and the team visited the site a week later to support the first responders.

“When I walked through the rubble of Ground Zero,” Fassel said. “I pledged that I’d never forget the events of the day and I’d do what I could to help the people affected by it.”

This week, Fassel — now an NFL analyst for Westwood One Radio and ESPN — continued to follow up on his pledge. His Jim Fassel Foundation, which was established in 2002 and has raised more than $1.1 million, contributed $250,000 to five organizations representing first responders, health providers and 9/11-related charities. The donation, the Fassel Foundation’s largest one-time contribution to date, was made at the World Trade Center Tribute Center in lower Manhattan.

“We have achieved an important milestone, surpassing $1 million in funds raised,” Fassel said. “After seven years, many may not realize that the 9/11 tragedy continues to cause considerable pain, hardship and illness, which is why it is so essential that we find ways to keep the needs of those affected in the public eye because they will continue to require our support for some time.”

New health secretary Daschle must do the right thing for sick 9/11 responders

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2008/12/12/2008-12-12_new_health_secretary_daschle_must_do_the.html

Friday, December 12th 2008, 4:00 AM

In a noteworthy coincidence, President-elect Barack Obama announced his nominee for Health and Human Services secretary the day after a judge set the first trial date for lawsuits by sickened 9/11 rescue and recovery workers.

The juxtaposition was a reminder of how miserably the Bush administration failed men and women who became ill because they responded to Ground Zero. It is a national shame that the sick still fight for medical care and are forced through the wringer of the courts to pursue compensation.

Those are sorry legacies of President Bush and his unrepentantly stonewalling man at HHS, Michael Leavitt. The Obama team, soon to be led by Tom Daschle, must do far better. He must be the secretary who remembers the Forgotten Victims of 9/11.

New York's congressional delegation, including Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Jerry Nadler, Pete King and the now-disgraced Vito Fossella, came within a hair of getting an $11 billion treatment and compensation plan to a vote in the House in September.

The measure was flawed in that it would have forced the city to bear an outsized share of the burden. But its foundations were sound. They included establishing a nationwide program for monitoring and treating workers and reopening the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund.

The fund provided payments to survivors of people killed on 9/11 as well as to people injured that day. It closed before thousands of responders developed symptoms of lung damage and other illnesses.

Reopening the fund would eliminate the time-consuming and hugely expensive process of working potentially 10,000 lawsuits through federal court - while unjustly threatening to bankrupt the contractors who executed the post-9/11 cleanup.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein set the first trials for 2010. These suits should not have been necessary. And Daschle should take the lead in making sure there is no reason to carry them out.

If the incoming secretary needs a tutorial on the issues, he need only look to the most senior member of the cabinet of which he will be a part - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who began fighting for the rescue and recovery workers while Ground Zero was a pile of twisted steel.

Let the battle now be won.

Clinic for 9/11 responders opens
West Brighton facility run by Richmond University Medical Center and Mount Sinai Medical Center

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1229432419241540.xml&coll=1

By JUDY L. RANDALL
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, December 16, 2008

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A clinic for World Trade Center first-responders was formally opened in West Brighton yesterday, a joint venture between Richmond University Medical Center and Mount Sinai Medical Center, Manhattan, where some 1,400 Staten Islanders already have sought treatment for illnesses related to exposure to toxins and depression.

Proponents of the facility here -- including two Manhattan members of Congress instrumental in its funding -- highlighted the importance of Island residents being able to seek a compatible array of comprehensive services in their home borough.

Medical care, along with a mental health component, and social work services, including benefits information, will be offered five days a week in the 4,200-square-foot facility at 690 Castleton Ave., across the street from RUMC.

Mount Sinai's Dr. Jacqueline Moline, who oversees WTC clinic services, said there are likely an additional 700 Staten Island World Trade Center first-responders who could benefit from treatment.

All they need to do is call 1-888-702-0630.

She said the services are free and confidential.

Dr. Moline said patients have sought treatment for respiratory ailments, including sinus trouble, asthma and heartburn, that have caused a reduction in their physical abilities. They have also received help with depression, including post traumatic stress disorder.

Dr. Moline said some $300 million in funding for services in four clinics throughout the city is from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

But she called maintaining funding levels "a constant challenge," and Democratic Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler charged yesterday that the Bush administration continues to thwart the flow of dollars.

The cost to open and maintain the clinic here, which has a one-year lease, could not be immediately learned from hospital officials.

Among those on hand to lend support were Councilman Michael McMahon (D-North Shore), the congressman-elect, and Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island).

Said McMahon: "This brings a neighborhood perspective to the national fight for further funding."

Judy L. Randall is a news reporter for the Advance. She may be reached at [email protected].

9/11 Still Producing FDNY Casualties

http://cms.firehouse.com/web/online/911/911-Still-Producing-FDNY-Casualties/41$62175

1/5/2009

John Schroeder lost everything on 9/11 - and now it's cost him his job as well.

As a hose man for Engine Co. 10, Schroeder was one of the first firefighters to respond to both the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, reaching the 23rd floor of the north tower during the latter catastrophe.

"I saw more people die that day than anyone can imagine," he told The Post.

Afterward, he struggled to cope with the staggering loss of 55 friends and colleagues. "I turned to the drink, the whole department did," he said.

Now Schroeder, 49, is one of several scarred firefighters fighting to keep their pensions because of failed drug tests, caught between the sympathy of their colleagues and the zero-tolerance policy of the Fire Department.

Schroeder tested positive for cocaine during a random FDNY drug sweep on Oct. 24, 2004. He denies using cocaine and claims he's been sober for more than a year. His lawyers argue he's a victim of a flawed test.

The department moved to fire Schroeder through a disciplinary hearing. In a highly unusual ruling, an administrative-law judge in August 2007 recommended that the 18-year veteran be allowed to retire with dignity.

Judge Kevin Casey didn't comment on the drug-test results but suggested the FDNY allow the decorated firefighter to complete his application for a disability pension. That way, Casey said, Schroeder, who suffers from lung disease that he believes came from breathing toxic Ground Zero air, could keep his health benefits.

At almost the same time, another 9/11 firefighter, Thomas Kelly, was undergoing a similar trial. Kelly admitted after a failed drug test that he had used cocaine. He argued that dismissal and loss of his pension and benefits was too harsh a penalty. But the FDNY still fired him.

Kelly asked the Appellate Division to review Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta's decision. In November, the court upheld Scoppetta's firing of Kelly.

Three weeks later, Schroeder, who had remained on modified duty while fighting his case, was also fired.

"They all just walked by me like I was a display in a zoo," he said, referring to his last years at the FDNY.

FDNY spokesman Frank Gribbon said the department's zero-tolerance policy for drug-test failures is "applied equally and consistently in all cases," but that firefighters who come forward for counseling on their own accord don't face the threat of job loss or punishment.

In all, 29 firefighters have failed drug tests since the random screenings were initiated in 2003. The policy came after a collision of two fire rigs; one of the firefighter drivers tested positive for cocaine.

At least four of those failed tests were tied to firefighters suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to their work on or shortly after 9/11, the firefighters union says.

That list includes firefighter Joseph Maresca, who was caught buying cocaine from an undercover cop near Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, with his 6-year-old daughter in his car.

An administrative law judge just ruled that Maresca also should be allowed to retire with pension and health benefits intact. His case is still pending before the FDNY.

Department doctors have diagnosed Schroeder with post-traumatic stress disorder and severe lung damage.

"I can't breathe," he said. "It's not getting easier."

But now Schroeder is minus pension and medical benefits.

On 9/11, he stopped on the 23rd floor of the north tower to help a colleague from Engine Co. 5 who had suffered a heart attack.

"That morning, my life was complete," he said. "Within a second, we looked up and everything was suddenly out of control."

As the south tower came crashing down, he began to rush out. But he got trapped for a while because of a collapsed stairwell, escaping the north tower moments before it collapsed.

He spent the following weeks toiling on "the pile," sifting through debris, finding body parts. He was temporarily placed on light duty and assigned to the FDNY's counseling unit after he discovered the remains of a friend.

Those days continually replay in his head.

"One day I'd like to wake up and not know what it's like to have 9/11 hitting me in the face like a Muhammad Ali left hook," he said.

Schroeder noted that he could have retired after 9/11 but stayed on to help train new firefighters.

But Schroeder, whose father was also a firefighter, now regrets that decision.

"It's an embarrassment that I was ever a fireman," he said.

NYC adds man's cancer death to 9/11 victims' toll

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gedchpIl6oM7F3AwCEyXaLDuYMzgD95OEC881

1/16/2009

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City man who died of lymphoma and lung disease three months ago has been added to the Sept. 11 death toll.

The city medical examiner's office says 45-year-old Leon Heyward's death was caused by breathing in the toxic dust cloud caused by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.

The medical examiner says Heyward died Oct. 13 of lymphoma, complicated by the lung disease sarcoidosis (sahr-koy-DOH'-sis.)

M.E. spokesman Ellen Borakove says Heyward was near the towers when they collapsed. She didn't know when he had become ill.

In 2007, the office added the name of a woman who died after the 2001 attacks to the death toll because of her exposure to toxic dust. The death toll from the trade center attacks now stands at 2,752.

Study: 9/11 lung problems persist years later

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090205/ap_on_re_us/attacks_health

2/5/2009

NEW YORK – Researchers tracking Sept. 11 responders who became ill after working at the World Trade Center site found many had lung problems years later in a study the authors said proves persistent illness in people exposed to toxic dust caused by the twin towers' collapse.

The study by the Mount Sinai Medical Center's medical monitoring program examined more than 3,000 responders between 2004 and 2007, repeating exams conducted between the middle of 2002 and 2004.

Slightly more than 24 percent of the patients had abnormal lung function, the study found. In the earlier examinations, about 28 percent of the patients had similar results.

"We know people we are following are still sick. It's confirming what we've been seeing clinically," said Dr. Jacqueline M. Moline, who treats ailing responders and co-authored the study.

Experts have struggled since the 2001 attacks to find standards to define post-Sept. 11 illness and the time it would take to develop. The city's medical examiner recently added to the official victims' list a man who died in October of cancer and lung disease, citing his exposure to the dust cloud that enveloped the city when the 110-story towers collapsed.

Mount Sinai's program has treated more than 26,000 people who were at the site or worked there in the days after Sept. 11. The study's authors noted that participants asked to be enrolled in the program and may have more health problems than others who were exposed but didn't enroll.

But Norman H. Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association, said the study is "probably an important finding" of long-term post-Sept. 11 illness.

"The most reasonable explanation is that there's a subset of people who for whatever reason were more sensitive to the stuff that was inhaled," Edelman said.

The researchers tracked 3,160 people who took followup exams between September 2004 and December 2007; all had previous exams at least 18 months earlier.

The study appears in Thursday's editions of CHEST, a journal published by the American College of Chest Physicians.

Study shows WTC link to lung woes

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/02/05/2009-02-05_study_shows_wtc_link_to_lung_woes.html

BY Leo Standora
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, February 5th 2009, 5:03 AM

Many Sept. 11 first responders - most of them cops, firemen and construction workers who took ill after working at Ground Zero - suffered lung problems more than five years later, according to a new study.

Experts say findings by Mount Sinai Medical Center's medical monitoring program prove those exposed to toxic dust in the twin towers' collapse suffer persistent illnesses, ranging from asthma to reactive airway disease and shortness of breath.

The study could help experts who have long been struggling to set standards for defining a post-Sept. 11 illness and how long it takes to develop.

The monitoring program examined more than 3,160 WTC responders between 2004 and 2007, repeating exams conducted between the middle of 2002 and 2004.

Slightly more than 24% of those examined had abnormal lung function, the study found.

In the earlier examinations, about 28% of the patients had had similar results.

"We know people we are following are still sick. It's confirming what we've been seeing clinically," said Dr. Jacqueline Moline, who treats ailing responders and is a co-author of the study.

The growing medical fallout from the WTC attacks was the focus of the Daily News Editorial Board's groundbreaking editorial series, "9/11: The Forgotten Victims," that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007.

As a result of the series, the federal Department of Health and Human Services released $75 million to monitor and provide health care to 9/11 volunteers - the first federal funds dedicated explicitly to 9/11 health problems.

Then-Gov. George Pataki later signed a bill to provide line-of-duty death benefits to responders' families, Mayor Bloomberg committed more than $37 million to monitor and treat victims, and Congress filed legislation seeking an additional $1.9 billion over five years.

Mount Sinai's program has treated more than 26,000 people who were at the site or worked there in the days after Sept. 11.

The study's authors note that the participants all asked to be enrolled in the program and may be more symptomatic than others who were exposed but didn't enroll.

Still, Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association, said the study is "probably an important finding" of long-term post-Sept. 11 illness.

"The most reasonable explanation is that there's a subset of people who, for whatever reason, were more sensitive to the stuff that was inhaled," Edelman said.

Lung Problems Persist for 9/11 Responders
Nearly a quarter still have breathing problems, study finds

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/02/05/lung-problems-persist-for-911-responders.html

By Randy Dotinga
Posted February 5, 2009

THURSDAY, Feb. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Almost a quarter of a sample of people exposed to toxic dust after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack in New York City still suffer from diminished lung capacity, a new study finds.

The rate of problems is much higher than normal, about 2.5 times more than would be expected in people who smoke, said study co-author Dr. Jacqueline Moline, director of the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program Clinical Center.

"These tests confirm what we've seen clinically: People are sick, they're short of breath," Moline said. "They used to run miles a day, now they can barely run the length of a football field."

But it's not clear what all of this means for their health in the long term, the researchers said.

The study findings appear in the February issue of the journal Chest.

Experts estimate that about 40,000 people, including fire and rescue workers, were exposed to noxious pollution in the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center.

Between 2004 and 2007, researchers gave breath tests to 3,160 9/11 workers and volunteers who had taken part in an earlier round of tests from 2002 to 2004.

About a quarter of those tested still have limited lung capacity and lung function, Moline said. "The most common finding we see is that people aren't able to take in as deep of a breath as you'd expect, and some can't push it out as much."

The normal rate of lung capacity problems for a similar group of people would be five percent for non-smokers and 10 percent for smokers, she noted.

"These are problems we're seeing five or six or seven years after the towers fell," Moline said. "Many of these folks are going to have long-term problems, and their lung function won't return to normal."

She said that researchers may never know what component of the toxic brew of 9/11 dust and smoke hurt the lungs of those who responded to the emergency.

Workers at the site reported cases of a signature "World Trade Center cough" and many said they suffered from such symptoms as itchy eyes and runny noses, even after the site cleanup ended in 2006.

The news is not all bad, however. Medication and other treatment could help those who were exposed, Moline said.

Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association, said that researchers still need to figure out what comes next for those exposed to the pollution.

"We don't know what it means for future health so we must, as the authors suggest, continue to follow them," he said.

Research released in September by the New York City health department looked at a wide range of people exposed to the World Trade Center disaster, including nearby residents and commuters. Authors of that study estimated that more than 400,000 people were exposed to the disaster. An estimated 35,000 to 70,000 of them developed post-traumatic stress disorder, and 3,800 to 12,600 people developed asthma as a result.

Congress must finally fulfill America's obligation to the forgotten victims of September 11th

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions...congress_must_finally_fulfill_americas_o.html

Saturday, February 7th 2009, 4:00 AM

A new study by researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center confirms the terrible truth about the long-term damage suffered by many rescue and recovery workers who responded to the World Trade Center.

The serious ill effects caused by breathing the toxic cloud that draped The Pile are, to this day, persistent and chronic among thousands of brave men and women who pitched in heroically after the terror attack.

Tests on more than 3,160 cops, construction workers and others found that more than 24% showed abnormal lung function between 2004 and 2007, down only slightly from the 28% who exhibited reduced lung function in similar examinations from 2002 to 2004.

The findings reinforce a second truth: Congress must find the will and the wherewithal to provide health care, monitoring and compensation to all those who remain sickened by exposure to WTC dust.

As it happened, New York Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Jerry Nadler, Pete King and Michael McMahon last week reintroduced legislation to do just that. The same bill died without action last fall, despite the welcome support of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The measure would provide $10.9 billion over 10 years to address a health crisis that extends into every state and nearly every congressional district because so many Americans rushed to New York to give aid.

The bill would provide medical care for lung, gastrointestinal and other diseases caused by WTC exposure; track the health of patients over time, and, importantly, reopen the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund as a necessary alternative to litigation.

For more than seven years, Congress and the departed Bush administration refused to uphold America's obligation to the 9/11 brigade. Among the stumbling blocks is the wrongheaded notion that city taxpayers must shoulder a share of the expense.

Maloney and her colleagues have attempted to sell the legislation by including a provision that would require the city to foot a whopping $500 million of the costs. Mayor Bloomberg has rightly balked.

City Hall is already paying for a set of 9/11 health programs. And, lest anyone miss the point, New York's budget is so busted that the mayor has proposed raising taxes amid serious talk of laying off thousands of public workers.

Washington must accept its responsibility. The U.S. was attacked on 9/11; New York City just happened to be the primary target. The ill and injured went to the service of their country, and their country owes them.

We have been blessed that America has been spared a second major attack. But there is no doubt terrorists are out there plotting. Should, God forbid, they succeed, would-be responders should not have to worry about being abandoned by the government. Right now, that's the horrible lesson they can draw.

It's important to remember who forgot them because it wasn't us.

Bill Aiding 9/11 First Responders Has Both Parties' Support

http://www.qgazette.com/news/2009/0211/features/007.html

BY JOHN TOSCANO
2/11/2009

A new bill has been introduced in Congress to deal with the health crisis that resulted from the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

As part of a continuing effort by Congressmember Carolyn Maloney, the new 9/11 Health and Compensation Act has bipartisan support and could also have the backing of President Barack Obama, who signaled his strong support for the 9/11 cleanup victims during his campaign last year.

Major support for the bill came last Thursday when Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan issued a report showing that more than 24 percent of 3,160 responders to the 9/11 attack and who are participating in a long-term health study continue to have abnormal lung function even seven years after the terrorist attack, according to Maloney and her colleague, Congressmember Jerrold Nadler (D- Manhattan).

Addressing herself to those in the Mount Sinai study, Maloney pointed out, "They are waiting for the care and compensation they deserve."

Maloney continued, "The Mount Sinai report shows yet again why we must pass the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act which demonstrates with stark clarity why we must act immediately to solve the health crisis caused by 9/11."

More than 400,000 people are believed to have been exposed to toxins from the WTC site, the lawmakers said. Nearly 16,000 responders and at least 2,700 community members are currently sick and receiving treatment. Although most of these people live in the New York-New Jersey area, at least 10,000 people who came from different parts of the U.S. to volunteer for the cleanup were also afflicted.

The ailing individuals include New York City firefighters and police officers, Emergency Medical Technician members, people from construction companies, cleanup personnel, local area residents and schoolchildren. Their illnesses include respiratory and gastrointestinal system ailments such as asthma, lung diseases, chronic cough and mental health conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the lawmakers said.

The new bill, titled H.R. 47, was introduced by Maloney (D- Queens/Manhattan), Nadler, and Congressmembers Michael McMahon (D- Staten Island) and Peter King (R- C, Long Island). It would provide medical monitoring and treatment for those who worked at Ground Zero, as well as compensation for economic losses due to illnesses or injuries caused by the 9/11 attacks, the lawmakers explained.

Maloney said the previous version of the legislation was ready to be considered by the House last fall, but because of the financial crisis and other factors, it had to be delayed. It is hoped that its chances of being successful will be aided by its bipartisan sponsorship and support.

Maloney stated, "Thousands lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks, but in the years that followed thousands more lost their health. This bill provides proper care to those who are suffering and demonstrates that America will not abandon its first responders and all those affected.

"I thank [House] Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and my colleagues in the New York delegation for their dedication to fulfilling America's moral responsibility to care for those who were harmed by the terrorist attacks on our nation."

The reintroduced legislation would build on existing monitoring and treatment programs by delivering expert medical treatment for these unique exposures at [Mount Sinai] Centers of Excellence, Maloney said, and also provide research into WTC-related health conditions.

9/11 health cases still months from trial

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/911-health-cases-still-months/story.aspx?guid={DE991A10-2E6F-4C29-96FA-30B2EA4637A5}&dist=msr_1

Last update: 12:36 p.m. EST Feb. 22, 2009

NEW YORK, Feb 22, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The sickest workers claiming ailments caused by the cleanup of the World Trade Center will be the first to have their cases heard in court, a U.S. judge says.

The first 30 trials are to begin May 17, 2010, said U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein.

"Their cases deserved to be tried first, for if they were to prevail, they have the greatest need for a monetary recovery," said Hellerstein, who is overseeing 9,090 individual lawsuits by construction workers, firefighters, police and others claiming injuries from the rescue and cleanup of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Settlements or verdicts in the first 30 cases will point the way for hundreds of other plaintiffs to settle their cases without enduring years of legal delays, Hellerstein said.

The plaintiffs allege exposure to toxic materials caused their illnesses. They contend the city and World Trade Center contractors failed to protect them, the New York Post reported Sunday.

More than $200 million of the $1 billion allocated by Congress to cover the claims has been lost in bond investments or has gone to pay administrative overhead and legal costs, the Post reported.

Judge Sets Date in 9/11 Health Lawsuits

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/090222_Judge_Sets_Date_in_9_11_Health_Lawsuits

Created On: Sunday, 22 Feb 2009, 7:32 PM EST

MYFOXNY.COM - On September 11, thousands of emergency workers rushed to the World Trade Center.

Today, many of them could be sick as a result. Soon, they'll have the chance to make that case in court.

Manhattan federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein said the first of some 30 trials will convene in May. He believes settlements or jury verdicts reached in the first 30 cases will point the way for hundreds of others to settle without dragging them through the courts for years to come.

The plaintiffs, who include construction workers, firefighters and police, said they were not protected from the toxic smoke at ground zero.

They believe the recovery and clean up effort made them sick.

There are about 9,000 pending lawsuits related to 9/11 recovery.

Bill contains $70 million for 9/11 health programs

http://www.silive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-42/1235542748147050.xml&storylist=simetro

2/25/2009, 1:00 a.m. EST
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of Congress say a spending bill expected to come before the House includes $70 million in new funding for federal 9/11 health programs.

The funding is expected to cover the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program's expenses for this fiscal year. That's according to a statement from New York Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler, Peter King, and Michael McMahon.

The new money would be combined with $112 million carried over from past years.

The bill could come before the House as early as Wednesday.

Hey Washington D.C., Let's Get This Show On The Road!!!

Jon Gold
3/10/2009

"I was just in the hospital for 8 days with respiratory & coronary problems. Then I come out to find out that the insurance carrier decided at the last minute to appeal my award from workmans comp that was just given to me after waiting 7 1/2 years."

This was just told to me by 9/11 First Responder Charlie Giles. Charlie was an EMT that went into the North Tower to try and help people, and got caught when the building collapsed. He was pulled out of the rubble, and has had to deal with serious medical problems ever since.

Charlie is but one of thousands with similar problems. It has almost been 8 years since that horrid day, and for the most part, the 9/11 First Responders and the people of New York living around Ground Zero have been neglected. Neglected by those who were more than willing to use their images to sell two wars, take away our civil liberties, and practically destroy this country.

It is LONG past due that these individuals receive the help they so DESPERATELY need and deserve.

On February 4th, 2009, Reps. Maloney, Nadler, King, and McMahon reintroduced the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Since that time, it has been sitting in limbo, just waiting to be voted on.

To our elected officials sitting in the House of Representatives. You could spend more money in Iraq or Afghanistan. You could spend more money on health care. You could spend more money bailing out the financial industry. You could do a lot of things, and in the past, you have shown us that when you want to, you can pass legislation faster than a speeding bullet.

I am asking you now to put all of those other things aside, and spend some money on what's right, and to do it NOW. Give them the help that they need. It is long past due.

Local Hospital Checks Up On Sept. 11 Responders

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29627114/

3/12/2009

TAMPA - Like every first responder on Sept. 11, 2001, Ivan Castrillo breathed in the toxic air - a brew of jet fuel, asbestos, lead and concrete dust concocted by the collapse of the twin towers in Manhattan.

For six months afterward he stood guard during rescue and recovery efforts as trucks and heavy equipment rumbled past and ash and dust swirled around him.

It was a gray blizzard. "I went home on a daily basis covered in soot," said Castrillo, then a 16-year veteran of the New York Police Department. "My wife couldn't believe the smells I was bringing home."

The shortness of breath, acid reflux and chest pain came later, after Castrillo, 44, retired from the department and moved with his wife, Evelyn, to Town 'N Country in northwest Hillsborough County.

Two months ago, health professionals put his 9/11 history together with his symptoms. He is registered with a database of first responders being compiled by Logistics Health Inc., which manages the World Trade Center National Responder Health Program.

The federally-funded program monitors and treats 9/11 responders who live outside the New York City and New Jersey metropolitan area.

Estimates indicate about 1,000 responders live in the Tampa Bay area. Overall, almost 91,500 people, including firefighters, police officers, medical professionals and volunteers, were part of the rescue, recovery and cleanup.

Many have reported respiratory and lung problems as well as post-traumatic stress disorder.

On Monday, Castrillo was seen for the first time by Toni Belisle, clinic medical director for Occupational Health Service at University Community Hospital-Carrollwood. The hospital also has clinics in Pasco and Pinellas counties.

Soon the hospital will forward reports from Castrillo's medical tests to Logistics Health, which then will refer him for federally paid medical treatment.

"We feel a little bit more calm about it," Castrillo said. "Now I know somebody is going to do something about it."

Castrillo is the fourth responder patient seen by University Community since February.

"It's a wonderful opportunity," Belisle said. "It's been a slow trickle in. Even if we can get a small percent of everyone out there, it's helpful. They can get some questions answered and relieve some anxiety."

For the past two years, Castrillo has had a string of emergency room visits for chest pains and difficulty breathing.

He gave up his lawn service business. He tried part-time work as a truck driver, but after an hour he would be in agony from the waist up.

"I know I want to work. That's the toughest part," Castrillo said. "I don't want to sit back and feel sorry for myself."

No one had an explanation. A doctor did treat him for anxiety, Castrillo said, a diagnosis based on 20 years as a police officer and "the experience I went through on 9/11."

He arrived at ground zero about 11 a.m. that Tuesday, just after the World Trade Center towers had fallen.

It was so smoky no one could see more than a few feet. It was fairly quiet. People seemed dazed. There was much confusion.

"Very surreal; it felt like you were in a bad disaster movie," Castrillo said.

He rode in a van with other officers, looking for people who needed help.

For the first three weeks, responders wore paper masks.

He and other responders didn't think about a future of poor health.

"We were thinking we had a job at hand, and we had to do it effectively," Castrillo said.

For information or to register as a responder, call Logistics Health at 1-877-498-2911.

CITY 'SLAP' AT 9/11 UNIFORMED HEROES

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03152009/news/regionalnews/city_slap_at_9_11_uniformed_heroes_159628.htm

By SUSAN EDELMAN
March 15, 2009

The city has asked a judge to toss out 9/11 claims by 4,600 cops, firefighters, and paramedics, arguing the "uniformed" personnel are not entitled to workplace protection under state labor laws.

The legal maneuver has infuriated Ground Zero responders, who called the city's move "a slap in the face."

New York's Bravest and Finest fought smoldering fires at Ground Zero, dug for human remains and guarded the toxic disaster site for months, the city says. But they don't get the same protections as manual laborers, mechanics and other "working men," the city contends.

"The uniformed plaintiffs do not fall within the class of employees entitled to the protections of the labor law," city lawyer James Tyrrell argues in a motion filed in Manhattan federal court.

Uniformed workers make up half of about 9,000 city employees, construction workers and others who have filed suits against the city in the World Trade Center cleanup.

If the city gets its way, NYPD and Port Authority cops, firefighters and EMTs would also be dismissed from claims against the city's WTC contractors.

But a lawyer for the workers, Paul Napoli, said the city's motion would unfairly "deprive uniformed service workers of basic occupational safety and health under established New York law."

"I'm furious," said ex-detective Mike Valentin, 45, who retired on disability from the NYPD in 2007 with severe lung disease and other ailments. He carries an oxygen tank, sleeps with a machine that helps him breathe, and was recently diagnosed with kidney disease.

"There is a special place in hell reserved for Mike Bloomberg," said Valentin, a father of three who launched the 9/11 Police Aid Foundation to help other ill and struggling responders.

"The callous indifference shown by the mayor enrages me. It's really sad that the city is protecting the contractors more than its unformed services."

Coalition Wants City To Honor 9/11 Health Claims

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stor...city-to-honor-9-11-health-claims/Default.aspx

3/21/2009

Members of the NYC Coalition of Uniformed Services came together Thursday to protest what they say is the city's effort to dismiss court claims regarding illness and injury suffered by 9/11 first responders.

Coalition members say the Bloomberg administration wants a Federal Judge to dismiss claims filed by members of the FDNY, NYPD and Port Authority Police.

They say the city argued uniformed personnel are not entitled to workplace protection under state labor laws.

"I remember on 9/11 we came down here, all the firefighters, cops, everybody wanted to help out. Now what kind of message is they mayor sending when he doesn't want to help us when we need help," said Kenny Specht, a member of the FDNY.

"It's difficult to hear that I possibly overperformed, did somebody else's job, and because I may have acted as a construction worker, out of necessity, my claim should be dismissed," said John McNamara, a member of the FDNY.

In response, the city says its motion did not ask for the dismissal of a single plaintiff's case.

The city added, "All the motion would do is simplify the issues for the court. The reaction to this motion highlights the need for legislation to reopen the federal Victim Compensation Fund, which the city supports, to provide compensation without the need for costly and divisive litigation."