[Wtcrc] 9/11-RELATED OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH - 6 articles

Mon May 1 09:45:34 EDT 2006

NYCOSH Newswatch

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	Towering Controversy: Continuing Debate Points out Difficulty of
Removing a Skyscraper Surrounded by Human Habitation - Battery Park City
Broadsheet, April 28 - May 13, 2006

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	9/11 Health Czar Gives Poor Prognosis - Newsday, April 29, 2006

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	Anecdotal Findings Suggest 9/11 Dust Can Cause Illness - New
York Times, April 29, 2006

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	Congressional Leaders Cheer 9/11 Health Official's Visit to NYC
- Associated Press, April 28, 2006

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	9/11 Health Chief Vows Death Probe - New York Post, April 29,
2006

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	9/11 Health Coordinator Comes To New York - NY1 News, April 28,
2006

=======================================================
Towering Controversy: Continuing Debate Points out Difficulty of
Removing a Skyscraper Surrounded by Human Habitation

By Serena Hedison 
Battery Park City Broadsheet
April 28 - May 13, 2006

At its most recent monthly meeting, Community Board 1 passed an
emergency resolution adding yet another voice to those opposing the
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's demolition plans for 130
Liberty Street, the former Deutsche Bank building irreparably damaged
and contaminated on Sept. 11, 2001.

At issue are the qualifications of the John Galt Corporation and the
safety record of Safeway Environmental Corporation, two companies hired
to raze the blighted building, as well as certain changes in plans not
authorized by the Environmental Protection Agency. Additionally,
residents and environmental activists attending the meeting expressed
alarm over what they said is insufficient emergency planning.

Concerns over the hiring of the Galt Corp. center around the company's
alleged lack of experience with asbestos-tainted sites. According to
several who came to CB1's public session to air complaints, the Galt
Corp. has only recently obtained the asbestos removal license required
by the state Department of Labor and the city's Department of
Environmental Protection. Kimberly Flynn, co-director of 9/11
Environmental Action, expressed her fear that the contractors are not up
to the formidable challenge of safely dismantling the shrouded building.
"A company nobody's ever heard of gets a last-minute permit to take down
the scariest building in the city," she said, echoing the apprehension
of residents like Mark Scherzer, who lives only a block away, and said,
"I think we should all be very concerned."

CB1 also questioned the reputation of Safeway Environmental Corp., and
its resolution cites two recent accidents at 130 Liberty involving
employees of Safeway Environmental and the Galt Corp. Jonathan Bennett,
public affairs director for the New York Committee for Occupational
Safety and Health, said at the meeting that the contractors have "a
substandard safety record." The NYCOSH website also mentions Safeway
Environmental's role in the collapse of a building on the Upper West
Side last July.

Kori-Ann Taylor, LMDC director of communications, responded to questions
in an email: "John Galt was chosen as a subcontractor by Bovis Lend
Lease with LMDC approval after we required safeguards to ensure that any
subcontractor complies with the highest standards of integrity. Bovis is
a world leader in construction and we feel confident in their
selection." She did not comment on Safeway Environmental.

Because the Deutsche Bank building was so seriously contaminated, the
EPA must approve all procedures related to abatement and demolition. In
an April 11 letter to the LMDC, the EPA outlined several significant
changes in the engineering plans that had not been cleared by the
agency. Among these are adjustments in the waste management plan; an
exterior chute for asbestos waste; concrete- crushing equipment that
could disperse dangerous materials; and the use of construction and
demolition debris as on-site backfill. The EPA concluded that "work on
the structural deconstruction of 130 Liberty shall not commence" until
the LMDC has provided "sufficient details about these proposed
engineering changes." In response to questions, Ms. Taylor stated, also
by email, "We have and will continue to provide any necessary and
requested information and documentation. We do not anticipate that this
will cause delays in the project."

Perhaps the loudest outcry of the evening came from residents who live
in the vicinity, and fear that an accident might result in a situation
scarily similar to Sept. 11, 2001. "We were all here on 9/11, and nobody
evacuated us, we evacuated ourselves," said Esther Regalson, of 109
Washington Street, in a telephone interview. At the meeting, she
contended that the LMDC is not addressing the evacuation plan seriously.
"They seem to think the CERT team will be sufficient," she said,
referring to the Community Emergency Response Team that counts her as a
member. "But CERT are not first-responders." Craig Hall, who lives at
200 Rector Street and is president of the World Trade Center Residence
Coalition, agreed. "If there were a partial collapse," he said, "We'd be
back at September 11 again." Ms. Taylor of the LMDC said, in a telephone
conversation, that there is a comprehensive emergency plan available on
the LMDC website and that it has been approved by regulatory agencies
like the EPA.

=======================================================
9/11 Health Czar Gives Poor Prognosis

By Herbert Lowe
Newsday
April 29, 2006

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-nywtc294722316apr29,0,3342482,prin
t.story?coll=ny-health-print

The federal government's new Sept. 11 health coordinator said Friday
that it's too early to say for sure whether anyone will die from
illnesses stemming from their exposure at or near the World Trade Center
site after the terrorist attacks in 2001.

"I don't think I can make those predictions," Dr. John Howard said at a
news conference at the Vanderbilt YMCA in midtown Manhattan.

Pressed again for an answer, Howard said, "Yes, I would assume" that
many people who lived or worked in lower Manhattan on and after Sept.
11, 2001, could die because of Ground Zero-related ailments.

Howard also said that anyone using a "common-sense kind of science"
would say, "Well, gee, we have a lot of people here in New York who were
entirely healthy before 9/11 and now they're not."

Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt in February
appointed Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, to be the health coordinator.

Howard spoke with reporters after meeting with members of 40 groups,
including labor unions, residents of lower Manhattan and those
representing firefighters and emergency workers who reached Ground Zero
first after the attacks.

The coordinator, in response to questions, shied away from making any
statements critical of the Environmental Protection Agency or the
Bloomberg administration. Howard would not give an opinion on a New
Jersey medical examiner's findings, announced this month, that NYPD Det.
James Zadroga's death was related to his exposure to Ground Zero toxins.
He said he had not yet reviewed the case.

Howard said his priorities are to coordinate federal programs related to
9/11 health concerns, ensure proper scientific reporting of all
illnesses related to Ground Zero, and to identify everyone who may have
been exposed to any toxins at or near the site. He also said he wants to
create and distribute medical protocols to doctors across the country
who may be treating people with 9/11-related ailments who now live
elsewhere.

Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Vito Fossella and Jerrold Nadler and Sen. Hillary
Rodham Clinton attended the briefing. Howard told them he will work to
ensure that $75 million earmarked for current health programs that
monitor Sept. 11 health effects is distributed by September.

"There were many promises made from our government that we will never
forget," Maloney said. "Well, today, we are making sure that that
promise is kept - that all of the people that responded, all of them
that were exposed to dangerous toxins are monitored and that they get
the health care that they deserve." 

=======================================================
Anecdotal Findings Suggest 9/11 Dust Can Cause Illness 

By Toni Whitt
New York Times
April 29, 2006

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/29/nyregion/29health.html

A doctor overseeing a federal effort to determine the health impact of
exposure to ground zero dust said anecdotal evidence suggested that
breathing in the smoke and ash that hung over the area after the towers'
collapse could lead to illness. But he stopped short of coming to any
firm conclusion, and said that a rigorous scientific study would be
required. 

Dr. John Howard, the director of the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, made the comments at a news conference yesterday with
members of New York's Congressional delegation.

He cited the deaths of three rescue workers whose health declined after
working at ground zero and reports of illness from thousands of people
who were in Lower Manhattan during and after the attack as indications
that the debris and fumes from the trade center might have been harmful.

"Sometimes it takes us in science years," he said, "in terms of making
absolutely definitive connections of a causal nature between exposure
and health effect." 

But, he added, "Common sense would say, gee, we have a lot of people
here in New York who were entirely healthy before 9/11 and now they're
not, and that's common sense type of science, if you will."

Dr. Howard is gathering extensive data - from health providers, various
agencies and others - to see whether the air at ground zero caused
health problems. 

It is important "to ensure scientific reporting in the peer review
literature," he said.

Dr. Howard started coordinating federal 9/11 health programs and
collecting data on health effects in February, a month after James
Zadroga, a detective who worked at ground zero, died. Earlier this
month, a medical examiner in New Jersey determined that Detective
Zadroga died as a result of the toxic dust that he breathed after 9/11. 

The New York Congressional delegation, including Senator Hillary Rodham
Clinton and Representatives Vito Fossella and Carolyn B. Maloney,
persuaded Congress to appoint a coordinator, citing the deaths of
Detective Zadroga and two other 9/11 responders, emergency medical
technicians Timothy Keller, 41, who died in June, and Felix Hernandez,
31, who died in October.

"We need to learn some lessons from this so we can apply them going
forward, whether it's a natural disaster or heaven forbid, another
terrorist attack," Mrs. Clinton said. 

To help identify health needs and to inform people of the possible risk
from the toxic dust in Lower Manhattan after 9/11, Dr. Howard has listed
medical protocols at the Department of Health and Human Services' Web
site, www.hhs.gov. The protocols are intended to help doctors identify
possible victims of 9/11 and to offer specific tests and treatments. Dr.
Howard said he plans to complete his two goals by September. 

He plans to release $75 million in federal funds by September to pay for
the treatment of emergency workers, volunteers, recovery specialists and
construction workers who helped at ground zero and at the Fresh Kills
landfill on Staten Island. 

Many of those people are being treated at Mount Sinai School of Medicine
in Manhattan. Most of the money for their treatment comes from private
sources, including the American Red Cross, which plans to stop paying
for treatment in 2007, said Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, chairman of the
department of community and preventive medicine. 

"With more money, we can see more people and shorten the delay" in
getting treatment, he said. 

The money will also help finance the Fire Department's medical treatment
program, a Police Department mental health program and the city's World
Trade Center Health Registry.

"Our goal is simple, that everyone who was exposed to the toxins at 9/11
be monitored and that everyone that is sick be treated," Representative
Maloney said yesterday. 

Dr. Howard acknowledged that not everyone exposed to the dust from
ground zero would be monitored and treated under the program. Those who
were working or living in Lower Manhattan, but were not rescue, recovery
or clean-up workers, have not been assessed. He said if research
indicated that the toxic dust that surrounded ground zero was making
people ill, then others who were exposed might seek treatment.

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

=======================================================
Congressional Leaders Cheer 9/11 Health Official's Visit to NYC

By Frank Eltman
Associated Press
April 28, 2006

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--attacks-health0
428apr28,0,1886904.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

NEW YORK -- All he needed was the hero's white hat. 

Several New York lawmakers hailed the arrival of the government's point
man on 9/11 health programs Friday, saying he is the right person to
finally help determine the lingering effects of the 2001 terror attacks
on emergency workers, lower Manhattan residents and others who were
exposed to smoke and debris at ground zero. 

Dr. John Howard, who was tapped by the Bush administration in February
to coordinate the federal response to ongoing Sept. 11 health problems,
met with reporters following a meeting with three House members from New
York City, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and a contingent of community and
labor leaders. 

"As far as I'm concerned, the appointment of Dr. Howard and his
performance so far is the first bright light, it's the first really good
thing that we've seen in terms of trying to help the victims of 9/11,"
said Rep. Jerrold Nadler. 

"It has been a long time coming," Clinton said. "What Dr. Howard is
going to do is to help coordinate those federal programs, to help us get
a protocol that will enable us to find out how to treat people." 

Howard, whose day job is overseeing the National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health, said it was noteworthy that Friday's
meeting came on what is known as "Workers Memorial Day," a holiday that
commemorates the deaths of and injuries to workers across the country. 

He said one of his goals is to address not only the health needs of the
"first responders" _ fire, police and other rescue personnel _ but also
the construction workers and others in the area who may have been
exposed to what has been called a "toxic cocktail." 

"We have to develop a series of reports so that we can get information
in one place," he said. 

Howard was asked by reporters about the significance of the recent
release of retired Detective James Zadroga's autopsy, which concluded
"with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of his
death was directly related to the 9/11 incident." 

The autopsy said Zadroga died in January of respiratory failure caused
by exposure to toxic dust. 

"Any death at the age of 34 is an untimely death," he said, but he
declined to draw any immediate conclusions. "You have to look very
carefully at that death." 

He added that Zadroga's death and other deaths may be "warning cases to
us that something might be going on here." 

Zadroga's family is pushing for the detective's orphaned 4-year-old
daughter to receive the benefits that would go to a survivor of someone
who died in the line of duty, which would be significantly more money,
and continue for more years, than the benefits the child would currently
get under state law. 

Late last year, Congress directed some $125 million in post-9/11 health
spending, $75 million for monitoring and treatment programs, and another
$50 million for state workers compensation programs. 

Howard is pushing researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital, which runs one of
the most extensive screening and treatment programs for ground zero
workers, to determine what percentage of first responders still have
serious, moderate, or mild health problems. 

___ 

Associated Press Writer Devlin Barrett in Washington contributed to this
story. 

=======================================================
9/11 Health Chief Vows Death Probe

By Carl Campanile
New York Post
April 29, 2006

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/67716.htm

New 9/11 federal health czar John Howard came to New York yesterday and
vowed to investigate deaths that might be linked to exposure to Ground
Zero.

He also called "very worrisome" the claim that thousands of people have
fallen ill from toxic air from the crumbled World Trade Center.

Asked if he expected many more such claims, he said, "Yes, I assume."

"We want to track the cases of people who have died in a possible
association [with Ground Zero]. We want to look at those cases," said
Howard, following a meeting in Manhattan with Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton and Reps. Vito Fossella, Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler.

Howard said it was troubling that a New Jersey medical examiner found
that the death of NYPD Detective James Zadroga was related to breathing
air while working in the recovery effort at Ground Zero.

"Any death at the age of 34 is an untimely death," Howard said during a
press conference at the Turtle Bay YMCA.

"You have to look very carefully at that. His exposure was very
significant. He spent more than 500 hours at the site.

"It is important to look at that case and other warning cases."

Lawyers have claimed in a class-action suit that 40 deaths of workers at
Ground Zero can be attributed to toxic air there.

Howard vowed to tackle "unmet health needs." He said he would establish
a comprehensive program to track 9/11 responders who've come down with
serious respiratory problems, stomach problems, other physical ailments
as well as mental distress.

Howard, a doctor with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
was in recent weeks named to the new post of federal 9/11 health
director, He said any correlation between deaths and illnesses and 9/11
would have to be scientifically proven - a painstaking process that
could take years.

He said he would work with Mount Sinai Medical Center and city health
officials, who have done research on the health of emergency responders
and other residents.

Those comments drew the ire of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

"We don't have the luxury of waiting," said PBA general counsel Michael
Murray, adding that "piles of data" already exist linking Ground Zero to
police deaths and illnesses.

"What was announced today was too little and way too late," he said.

Howard also said he would consider recommending providing medical
screening to residents and other volunteers who spent time near Ground
Zero.

Current screening and treatment mostly covers such emergency responders
as firefighters, police, EMTs and paramedics.

Such an expansion would require additional federal funding, he said.

The members of Congress who have criticized the federal government's
response to 9/11 health woes were confident that Howard would turn
things around.

They also said they would push for additional funding for screening and
treatment.

"It has been a long time coming," Clinton said.

carl.campanile at nypost.com

=======================================================
9/11 Health Coordinator Comes To New York

NY1 News
April 28, 2006

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/NY1ToGo/Story/index.jsp?stid=203&aid=59002

Two weeks after the death of a former NYPD detective was linked to his
work at the World Trade Center site, the federal government's new 9/11
health coordinator arrived in New York Friday.

Doctor John Howard met with local lawmakers and community leaders in
Manhattan to discuss the goals and challenges of the work ahead.

His position was created in the Department of Health and Human Services
to monitor the health impacts of September 11th.

Dr. Howard says he not only wants to track the health problems of
emergency first responders, but also those of non-responders, such as
volunteers and residents.

"We can look at what happened at this disaster at a national level and
not repeat some of these terrific problems that we're experiencing now
five years after the fact," said Dr. Howard.

"Dr. Howard gives us a chance for having the rational basis from which
to make better decisions going forward so we will never again have our
government say, 'Oh the air is fine!" added Senator Hillary Clinton.

In January, NYPD Officer James Zadroga died from what medical examiners
in New Jersey later said were brain and respiratory complications caused
by his work at the World Trade Center site in the weeks after 9/11.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------

NY1's Sandra Endo filed this report.

They call it a toxic cocktail - the dust cloud after the 9/11 attacks.
It could affect the lives of thousands in years to come.

"Common sense, anyone would say, 'Well gee, we have a lot of people here
in New York who were entirely healthy before 9/11, and now they're
not,'" Dr. John Howard said Friday. "That's common sense type of
science, if you will."

Dubbed the 9/11 health czar, Dr. Howard is the federal official newly in
charge of coordinating and tracking the health of people exposed to the
conditions at the World Trade Center site.

Senator Hillary Clinton pushed for the creation of his job.

"We need to help people who were affected, but we need to learn some
lessons from this so we can apply them going forward, whether it's a
natural disaster or heaven forbid another terrorist attack," said
Clinton.

They're urging anyone who worked or lived near the site to register to
have their health tracked. Two recent deaths have been linked to
conditions there.

Paramedic Marvin Bethea says he's suffering from illness because of his
work there.

"I was on two medicines before 9/11, and today [I'm taking 13] all
because of 9/11. And yet they say I'm not sick," said Bethea.But some
question whether compiling data is really going to be of much practical
help.

"It can't help us physically, the people who are having physical
problems and problems that are going to happen down the road we don't
know," said TriBeCa resident Esther Regelson. "So I do hope we have more
than a databank at our disposal."

Some officials agree more needs to be done.

"The response of city and state government have been absolutely
shameful, and what the city and state government have said in effect to
people is, 'Don't help us in the future. Don't be a first responder,
because if you are and if you are injured, we're going to throw you
overboard,'" said Rep. Jerrold Nadler.

That's why in addition to tracking health conditions, these lawmakers
are pushing to get more federal funding to aid those seeking medical
help as a result of 9/11.

Copyright (c) 2006 NY1 News

------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Jonathan Bennett
Public Affairs Director, New York Committee for Occupational Safety and
Health
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