9/11 Toxins

Contaminants In the 9/11 Toxic Cloud

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Lower Manhattan was bathed in a toxic stew of chemicals and particulates. Thousands of responders, workers, and volunteers rushed to Ground Zero and spent hours, days and months breathing the air. As well, residents, office workers, students and teachers spent months inhaling extremely toxic fumes and particles from the haze that hung in the air and settled throughout Lower Manhattan. This toxic dust comprised a complex mix of pollutants including:

• 91,000 L jet fuel
• Pulverized building materials
• Cement dust
• Asbestos
• Dioxin
• Gypsum and calcite
• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
• Microscopic shards of glass
• Silica
• Heavy metals
• Numerous organic compounds

According to atmospheric scientist Thomas Cahill of the University of California-Davis, “The debris pile acted like a chemical factory. It cooked together the components of the buildings and their contents, including enormous numbers of computers, and gave off gases of toxic metals, acids and organics.”

Over 15,000 people in the 9/11 community have been diagnosed with the WTC cancers, and over 2,000 have had their deaths linked to those cancers. Those numbers will continue to climb steeply. Many more people are expected to develop one of the many WTC-related illnesses that have befallen those who spent time directly on Ground Zero. Due to the heavy presence of carcinogens in the air, many responders and survivors— office workers, residents, students, and teachers—  have fallen ill with cancer. More than 69 cancers are on the list of compensable illnesses administered by the doctors at the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP).

Exposed Individuals Have A Right To Free Health Care and Compensation 

The World Trade Center Health Program provides free nationwide medical care to those with WTC-linked diseases and cancers. The Victim Compensation Fund is a $10 billion government fund which provides monetary benefits to victims.

Deadline Extended to Register for Compensation

The deadline to register a cancer or death claim has been extended.

If you were exposed to the toxic air on 9/11 or in the 8 months that followed, but have not had your medical condition linked to 9/11, you also still have time to apply for significant compensation. The deadline to apply to the Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) is two years from the date that your cancer or illness has been certified by the WTC Health Program — or any other governmental agency. The two-year period to register doesn’t start on the day of diagnosis. Rather, it starts only when a victim is made aware their condition was linked to exposure to the WTC toxins.

For those who died from their WTC-linked condition, the two-year period for their family to register starts on the day of the death of the WTC victim.