Ground Zero workers continue to worry about mesothelioma, other illnesses

The September 11^th attacks on the World Trade Center left part of Manhattan submerged under a toxic dust that would linger for months. "Everywhere you went there was dust. It was in the air. It was on the ground. It was on everything you touched, everything you saw," describes Ground Zero worker Jevon Thomas.

The dust contained toxins, such as dioxin, benzene and asbestos, which is known to cause such fatal diseases as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the lining of the chest and abdomen. Thomas, who worked in the dust for over a year, developed an equally as rare cancer called epithelioid sarcoma. Nine years after the attack, many Ground Zero workers have developed cancers that they attribute to the dust.

"You can’t work in an environment with so many different chemicals and carcinogens… for a year straight, day in and day out, and not come down with something," says Thomas, who was recently also diagnosed with lung cancer.

Yet studies conducted by major health centers have concluded that cancer is not a leading health problem among the estimated 40,000 Ground Zero workers. The most common illnesses suffered by these workers are respiratory problems, gastrointestinal disease (probably caused by ingesting dust), and mental health issues, such as post traumatic stress disorder and depression.

However, the lack of hard data may just be a question of time. Pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs that is caused by inhaling asbestos fibers, can take decades to surface. The cocktail of carcinogens inhaled by these workers may very well not begin to show its full blown effects for another ten years.