The brave men and women who responded to the terrorist attack at the World Trade Center on 9/11 are now facing an elevated risk of developing respiratory problems ranging from asthma to lung cancer to mesothelioma. Asbestos and other toxic inhalants contaminated the air at Ground Zero. Now, the only support program for 9/11 responders that is located in Queens is dangerously close to shutting down, due to lack of federal funding.
“There is no new money for the program and its continuation is based on passage of the Zadroga bill,” said Lauri Boni, who is the administrative director of the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program Queens Clinical Center in Flushing. “We are in a holding pattern and will close without the money.” The Zadroga Bill is named after a police detective who responded to the scene and later died at the age of 34 from respiratory problems. The Zadroga Bill would provide $12 billion over a 10-year period to fund the testing and healthcare for 9/11 emergency responders. Currently, the center in Flushing needs $2.5 million a year to stay open.
According to Dr. Wajdy L. Hailoo, medical director of the Flushing monitoring and treatment program, most of the emergency responders to the scene did not know that the debris particles in the air could sicken them. “These are very sick people suffering from a variety of chronic conditions,” Hailoo said. To date, the facility has helped 3,000 patients.
One patient who visits the clinic is Freddy Noboa, a paramedic supervisor at New York Hospital Queens. He led a team of medics on 9/11, and stayed around Ground Zero for weeks to help with the rescue and recovery efforts. “If the program didn’t exist, I don’t think I’d be around,” he said. “They pay for all my medications and are fantastic; just like a family to me.”