Fifteen years on from 9/11
As we mark the fifteenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the legacy of asbestos is predicted to claim many more lives than the original 2,753 people who died in 2001. The World Trade Center Health Registry estimates about 410,000 people could have been exposed to asbestos when the towers collapsed and as diseases like mesothelioma take between 15 and 60 years to develop, the true cost in lives may not be fully realised for years to come.
The collapse of the towers sent plumes of toxic white dust into the area surrounding Lower Manhattan. The dust contained toxic substances, including asbestos, ground glass, lead, gypsum and calcite. An estimated 1,000 tons of asbestos was used during the construction of the Twin Towers, with more than 400 tons of pulverised asbestos contained within the toxic cloud which hung over Lower Manhattan after the towers collapsed.
Up to 70,000 people took part in the massive operation at Ground Zero, including police, fire fighters and construction workers, who came to New York voluntarily from all over the United States.
Thoracic Surgeon Dr Raja Flores from New York believes an alarming number of asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma, will start emerging soon in New York City, stemming from the rescue and clean-up efforts of 9/11. He believes a lot more cases will be seen in the future due to the long latency period (15-60 years) between exposure and obvious symptoms.
Raja stated “I feel stronger about this today than ever. We’re going to see a very significant rise in [mesothelioma] cases. We’re starting to see the uptick”
2,753 people died initially when two jets hijacked by terrorists crashed into the towers, causing their collapse and ensuing chaos. The health of many more thousands of people will also be affected in the aftermath.
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Sources: Asbestos.com The Guardian 9/11 Infographic
