Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Now It's Official
Toxic dust at Ground Zero was lethal and killed people - so says the chief medical examiner of New York City:
There will be many more deaths added to the 9/11 toll number and many of those deaths could have been prevented if Bush, St. Rudy, and Christie Todd Whitman had done their jobs correctly and protected both the heroes working at Ground Zero and the people working and/or living in downtown New York.
NEW YORK (AP) -- A woman who died of lung disease five months after Sept. 11 was added Wednesday to the medical examiner's list of attack victims, marking the first time the city has officially linked a death to the toxic dust caused by the World Trade Center's collapse.
Felicia Dunn-Jones, a 42-year-old attorney who was caught in the dust cloud while fleeing the collapsing towers on Sept. 11, 2001, died of sarcoidosis, a disease that causes inflammation and scarring in the lungs, on Feb. 10, 2002.
''Mrs. Dunn-Jones' exposure to World Trade Center dust on 9/11/01 contributed to her death, and it has been ruled a homicide,'' Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch wrote.
The city said the Sept. 11 death toll at the trade center now stands at 2,750.
Dunn-Jones' family had asked last year that the medical examiner add her name to the death toll, but Hirsch wrote at the time that his office could not link her death to the exposure ''with certainty beyond a reasonable doubt.''
Since then, a doctor for the Fire Department of New York published a study that found firefighters who worked at ground zero contracted sarcoidosis at a much higher rate after the Sept. 11 attacks than before, linking the disease firmly to the dust exposure.
...
New York lawmakers, some of whom urged the city to add Dunn-Jones to the death toll last year, said more people should be added in the future.
''Sadly, we have known that Felicia is not alone and that others have died from ailments caused by 9/11,'' said U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. ''I hope that the medical examiner is no longer in denial about the trade center dust. Dr. Hirsch must review the cases of other 9/11 heroes who, like Felicia, died in the prime of their lives.''
There will be many more deaths added to the 9/11 toll number and many of those deaths could have been prevented if Bush, St. Rudy, and Christie Todd Whitman had done their jobs correctly and protected both the heroes working at Ground Zero and the people working and/or living in downtown New York.
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reality, it's not official. But the science fictions have begun.
The article states:
“Death From WTC Dust Added to 9 / 11 Toll
“By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
“NEW YORK (AP) -- Felicia Dunn-Jones died of lung disease five months after Sept. 11, and last year her family asked that the city's medical examiner add her name to the death toll.”
“The 42-year-old attorney was caught in the dust cloud while fleeing the collapsing towers on Sept. 11, 2001. She died of sarcoidosis, a disease that causes inflammation and scarring in the lungs, on Feb. 10, 2002.”
BUT. The article does not state WHERE she was when the buildings fell. Did she work at the World Trade Center? Or nearby? Was she escaping the Towers as they collapsed? Or was she simply in the neighborhood? Did she smoke? Was she already affected by lung problems?
The article is interesting for what it did NOT state, rather than for what it did.
The AP (not NY Times, by the way) article says:
“In explaining the reversal, Hirsch cited ''accumulated scientific research'' that concluded exposure to trade center dust can CAUSE or CONTRIBUTE to sarcoidosis.”
The article conveniently omits any mention of Dunn-Jones’ existing medical condition. In other words, the 9/11 exposure might have CONTRIBUTED to her condition, but didn’t CAUSE it.
The article states:
“A study published this month by a Fire Department of New York doctor linked sarcoidosis definitively to exposure to the toxic plume that enveloped lower Manhattan after Sept. 11. It found that firefighters contracted the disease at a much higher rate after the attacks than before.”
It’s truly fascinating that this important tidbit is stated without supporting numbers. Why did the reporter omit this key item? Moreover, firemen are exposed to smoke and other airborne hazards like smokers are exposed to cigarette smoke. Of course they experience more lung problems. In addition to breathing the bad air at burning buildings, some firemen push their luck by smoking. With their lungs already weakened by inhaling the bad air at fires, it’s no surprise that firemen contract sarcoidosis.
Will I?
I went downtown on 9/11 not long after the buildings fell. I can tell you downtown was a surreal scene. The air was filled with the dust from the Trade Center collapses. Pale dry mist suspended in the air. You were conscious of every breath. You could feel the dust as you inhaled it. I was downtown all afternoon.
I hopped a tugboat from Battery Park to Brooklyn sometime around 7 pm. The tug company sent them down there to ferry people to Brooklyn and New Jersey, and to pick up bodies.
I’ve had a couple of complete physical exams since then. My lungs are clear.
Anyway, the study was published by a doctor who works for the NYC Fire Department. He’s hardly an unbiased person or representing an unbiased institution. The doctor and the FDNY have millions of reasons to sell the idea that firemen were exposed to added risks. Those millions of reasons are dollars. Federal and state and city tax dollars.
Guess what? A class action suit was filed. According to the article:
“A class-action lawsuit has claimed that dozens of deaths have been caused by exposure to toxic trade center dust.”
And:
“New York lawmakers seeking federal funding for Sept. 11 health issues said more names should be added to the list."
Cigarette companies are off the hook for lawsuits stemming from smokers claiming they didn't know smoking cigarettes causes lung cancer. Many people who worked at Ground Zero, like smokers, ignored the obvious health risks and worked there without respirators.
The article states:
“Death From WTC Dust Added to 9 / 11 Toll
“By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
“NEW YORK (AP) -- Felicia Dunn-Jones died of lung disease five months after Sept. 11, and last year her family asked that the city's medical examiner add her name to the death toll.”
“The 42-year-old attorney was caught in the dust cloud while fleeing the collapsing towers on Sept. 11, 2001. She died of sarcoidosis, a disease that causes inflammation and scarring in the lungs, on Feb. 10, 2002.”
BUT. The article does not state WHERE she was when the buildings fell. Did she work at the World Trade Center? Or nearby? Was she escaping the Towers as they collapsed? Or was she simply in the neighborhood? Did she smoke? Was she already affected by lung problems?
The article is interesting for what it did NOT state, rather than for what it did.
The AP (not NY Times, by the way) article says:
“In explaining the reversal, Hirsch cited ''accumulated scientific research'' that concluded exposure to trade center dust can CAUSE or CONTRIBUTE to sarcoidosis.”
The article conveniently omits any mention of Dunn-Jones’ existing medical condition. In other words, the 9/11 exposure might have CONTRIBUTED to her condition, but didn’t CAUSE it.
The article states:
“A study published this month by a Fire Department of New York doctor linked sarcoidosis definitively to exposure to the toxic plume that enveloped lower Manhattan after Sept. 11. It found that firefighters contracted the disease at a much higher rate after the attacks than before.”
It’s truly fascinating that this important tidbit is stated without supporting numbers. Why did the reporter omit this key item? Moreover, firemen are exposed to smoke and other airborne hazards like smokers are exposed to cigarette smoke. Of course they experience more lung problems. In addition to breathing the bad air at burning buildings, some firemen push their luck by smoking. With their lungs already weakened by inhaling the bad air at fires, it’s no surprise that firemen contract sarcoidosis.
Will I?
I went downtown on 9/11 not long after the buildings fell. I can tell you downtown was a surreal scene. The air was filled with the dust from the Trade Center collapses. Pale dry mist suspended in the air. You were conscious of every breath. You could feel the dust as you inhaled it. I was downtown all afternoon.
I hopped a tugboat from Battery Park to Brooklyn sometime around 7 pm. The tug company sent them down there to ferry people to Brooklyn and New Jersey, and to pick up bodies.
I’ve had a couple of complete physical exams since then. My lungs are clear.
Anyway, the study was published by a doctor who works for the NYC Fire Department. He’s hardly an unbiased person or representing an unbiased institution. The doctor and the FDNY have millions of reasons to sell the idea that firemen were exposed to added risks. Those millions of reasons are dollars. Federal and state and city tax dollars.
Guess what? A class action suit was filed. According to the article:
“A class-action lawsuit has claimed that dozens of deaths have been caused by exposure to toxic trade center dust.”
And:
“New York lawmakers seeking federal funding for Sept. 11 health issues said more names should be added to the list."
Cigarette companies are off the hook for lawsuits stemming from smokers claiming they didn't know smoking cigarettes causes lung cancer. Many people who worked at Ground Zero, like smokers, ignored the obvious health risks and worked there without respirators.
^^^yeah really. That type of logic is like saying, "well, I've smoked cigars for 30 years and since I don't have cancer then no one should either".
Anyone who have seen 9/11 pics or videos knows that the dust was very thick- people were literally covered in it. And it seemed to lingeron for weeks afterwards.
Anyone who have seen 9/11 pics or videos knows that the dust was very thick- people were literally covered in it. And it seemed to lingeron for weeks afterwards.
# posted by 
: 6:19 PM
: 6:19 PM
P.S. Felicia Dunn-Jones did not work at the World Trade Center. She worked a couple of blocks north on Church. Big difference.
It might be true that 9/11 contributed to her problems, but 9/11 did not CAUSE her sarcoidosis.
By the way, her husband was paid $2.6 million as a result of her death.
It might be true that 9/11 contributed to her problems, but 9/11 did not CAUSE her sarcoidosis.
By the way, her husband was paid $2.6 million as a result of her death.
chewy, you wrote:
"That type of logic is like saying, "well, I've smoked cigars for 30 years and since I don't have cancer then no one should either"."
Not at all. Your hypothetical situation is miles away from an appropriate comparison.
It might be fair to say that being a few blocks away from Ground Zero when the buildings fell was like smoking unfiltered cigarettes for a few months. Few people, if any, can claim they developed lung cancer from smoking for a few months.
But cigars (which most smokers don't inhale) for 30 years? No. Anyway, cigar smokers are more likely to suffer mouth or tongue cancer. Not lung problems.
You wrote:
"Anyone who have seen 9/11 pics or videos knows that the dust was very thick- people were literally covered in it. And it seemed to lingeron for weeks afterwards."
I was in mid-town Manhattan the morning of the attack. But I went downtown shortly after the buildings fell.
As I've mentioned, the air was filled with fine particles of dust. They were so light they appeared to be suspended in the atmosphere. Even though it was a beautiful day, the sunlight was diffused by the dusty haze. The ground was covered in a light fluff, like powder snow. Walking left footprints.
The small particles that were hanging in the air are the ones that damage lungs. The bigger particles are simply coughed out. But the smaller ones are more likely to slip into the air cells of the lungs and inflame them like a grains of sand in an oyster.
As for the lingering bad air, well, the plume of stench from the burning site drifted over my house in Brooklyn for several days after 9/11. Then the wind changed direction, sending the effluents rising off the smoldering heap to to other places.
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"That type of logic is like saying, "well, I've smoked cigars for 30 years and since I don't have cancer then no one should either"."
Not at all. Your hypothetical situation is miles away from an appropriate comparison.
It might be fair to say that being a few blocks away from Ground Zero when the buildings fell was like smoking unfiltered cigarettes for a few months. Few people, if any, can claim they developed lung cancer from smoking for a few months.
But cigars (which most smokers don't inhale) for 30 years? No. Anyway, cigar smokers are more likely to suffer mouth or tongue cancer. Not lung problems.
You wrote:
"Anyone who have seen 9/11 pics or videos knows that the dust was very thick- people were literally covered in it. And it seemed to lingeron for weeks afterwards."
I was in mid-town Manhattan the morning of the attack. But I went downtown shortly after the buildings fell.
As I've mentioned, the air was filled with fine particles of dust. They were so light they appeared to be suspended in the atmosphere. Even though it was a beautiful day, the sunlight was diffused by the dusty haze. The ground was covered in a light fluff, like powder snow. Walking left footprints.
The small particles that were hanging in the air are the ones that damage lungs. The bigger particles are simply coughed out. But the smaller ones are more likely to slip into the air cells of the lungs and inflame them like a grains of sand in an oyster.
As for the lingering bad air, well, the plume of stench from the burning site drifted over my house in Brooklyn for several days after 9/11. Then the wind changed direction, sending the effluents rising off the smoldering heap to to other places.
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