WTC Health Program

I am thrilled to announce that this afternoon, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly (402-12) passed a 70 year extension of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). Congresswoman Maloney, who spearheaded the bi-partisan bill to extend and fully fund the VCF, was wearing the coat that Ret. FDNY Deputy Chief Richie Alles and I gave her […]

While we still wait for the Congressional Budget Office to announce the cost of the proposed bill, we are thrilled to report that sponsors of the pending legislation have added recently departed Detective Luis Alvarez and Firefighter Ray Pfeifer, deceased, to the name of the pending bill that would permanently extend and fully fund the […]

If you were a first responder, construction worker or anyone who was in the World Trade Center area in the aftermath of the September 11 attack, firefighter Steven “Bubba” Pascale has an important message for you: Get checked. During a CT scan of his lungs, doctors identified a large tumor on his right kidney. A […]

Father’s Day is an emotional day for all – whether you are celebrating a living father, lost father, or any other type of father. Michael Barasch joined Shelli Sonstein along with Bridget Gormley and Rob Tilearcio who both lost their fathers to the 9/11 toxins. As Shelli always says, she wants these heroes to be […]

Twenty-nine schools were in the contamination zone of the 9/11 attack, according to the World Trade Center Health Program. However, students and teachers in these facilities are held to different standards for enrollment in the medical monitoring through the WTC Health Program as compared to first responders. As designated “survivors” under the James Zadroga Act, […]

As the serious medical problems associated with 9/11 exposure mount, a new cancer risk has been identified. During a four-year period, diagnoses of head and neck cancers increased by 40 percent among World Trade Center first responders. Carcinogenic particles that were inhaled by police officers, fire fighters, military personnel and others at or near Ground […]