9/11 Compensation Eligibility & Exposure Zone

Were You in Lower Manhattan on 9/11 or in the Months that Followed?

The most important factor in determining your eligibility for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) or World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) is whether you were inside the exposure zone in Lower Manhattan on 9/11 or in the 8 months that followed. Placing yourself inside the exposure zone means that you spent time breathing in the toxic air from the smoke and debris of the World Trade Center.

What is the 9/11 Exposure Zone?

The 9/11 Exposure Zone is a defined area of Lower Manhattan extending south from Houston Street and covering a 1.5 mile radius around the Ground Zero attack site. This zone is made up of two overlapping areas that determine which program a 9/11 victim could be eligible for:

• WTCHP Eligibility starts at Houston Street and extends south covering a 1.5 mile radius around the Ground Zero. A part of western Brooklyn, NY is included in this area.
• VCF Eligibility is an area defined as south from Canal Street and west of Clinton Street, covering all of Lower Manhattan south of those boundaries.

Who Is Eligible For Compensation & Free Health Care?

The short answer is everyone that was exposed to the toxic air within the Exposure Zone mentioned above. This includes Lower Manhattan office workers, residents, teachers, students, clean-up workers, construction crews, responders, volunteers and firefighters, police, and EMTs who lived worked or went to school in the exposure zone.

For specific information about the eligibility of these groups of survivors:

I want to personally thank the firm for their hard work at both the forefront, and in the offices of the VCF in Washington. Without the firm’s non-stop commitment to the VCF, I wonder where many of us first responders would be today.

E.S.
9/11 Responder