WTC Health Program

February 27 marks the 47th anniversary of the New York Telephone exchange fire. Just after midnight on February 27, 1975, a short circuit in the basement cable vault at the New York Telephone Company switching center started a fire. At the time, fifteen employees were working in the building, located at Second Avenue and Thirteenth […]

February is American Heart Month. Anyone who was exposed to Ground Zero toxins on or after 9/11 has a higher risk of developing 68 different types of cancer and many respiratory illnesses, which have been linked to the 9/11 toxins by the World Trade Center Health Program. A study published by the Journal of the […]

Firefighters risk their lives daily to help save others from danger. They bravely run into harm’s way while others flee in the opposite direction. This selfless act defines their profession. Another part of the profession — that often isn’t so obvious — is their risk of developing mesothelioma. Almost all buildings — both residential and […]

February is National Cancer Prevention Month. The half a million people exposed to Ground Zero toxins after 9/11 have a dramatically higher risk of developing respiratory illnesses and cancer. The World Trade Center Health Program has linked 68 different types of cancer and a host of respiratory illnesses to the 9/11 toxins, no matter your […]

Today, February 8, 2022, would have been NYPD Detective James Zadroga’s 51st birthday. A native of Arlington, New Jersey, and Barasch & McGarry client, Detective Zadroga was a 9/11 first responder whose premature death demonstrated that the air near Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan was toxic. His illness provided crucial evidence linking Ground Zero toxins […]

Dennis Smith, a longtime New York City firefighter and bestselling author, passed away on January 21. He was 81. Raised on the East Side of Manhattan, Smith joined the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) in 1963, when he was assigned to Engine Company 292 in Queens. In 1966, Smith was transferred to the busiest […]