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Air Today . . . Gone Tomorrow Article Health Assessment Finds
World Trade Center Clean-Up Workers Suffering from Acute Respiratory Problems
Press Release, August 23,
2002
Many workers who cleared debris from the site of the World Trade Center
attack of September 11 reported acute respiratory symptoms, according to a health
assessment conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The
investigators believe the respiratory problems may be associated with exposure to dust and
airborne contaminants at Ground Zero. Since the investigators only looked at
short-term health effects, they said more research is needed to determine if there is any
long-term health risk to the workers. The assessment was conducted in collaboration with
the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the findings were presented on August 22 at
a meeting for members of Teamsters Local 282 in Lake Success, N.Y.
Many of the workers we assessed reported coughing, wheezing, and
sore throats while working at Ground Zero. These symptoms seemed to increase the longer
they worked at the site. The good news is that we did not find unhealthy levels of
asbestos, but we dont know what the long-term health risks may be regarding exposure
to other airborne contaminants at the site, explains Alison S. Geyh, PhD, chief
investigator and assistant professor of environmental health sciences at the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The exposure and health assessment was conducted between October 2001
and April 2002. The investigators examined the workers airborne exposures to
asbestos, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds. In October, airborne
contaminants were measured at numerous locations at Ground Zero and on truck drivers who
hauled wreckage away from the site. The respiratory health of the truck drivers and other
debris-removal workers was assessed two months later, when a respiratory health
questionnaire was administered to the workers. In addition, lung function was measured
using spirometry. Additional airborne-contaminant measurements were collected in April and
compared to the data gathered in October.
The air monitoring effort detected small amounts of asbestos.
Investigators say exposures were generally low and did not exceed health exposure
guidelines. Low level exposures to asbestos, occurring for a short period of time
relative to a working lifetime, suggest that these truck drivers are unlikely to be at a
significant increased risk of asbestos-related disease, said Patrick Breysse, PhD,
MHS, an investigator on the project and professor of environmental health sciences at the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Airborne particulate matter measured at Ground Zero was highly variable
in both composition and size and depended on conditions at the site, such as how
aggressively the fires were burning, how actively the debris was being removed, and how
thoroughly dust suppression measures were being carried out.
Responses to the questionnaire indicate that respiratory symptoms, such
as sore throat, coughing, and wheezing, were widespread among workers at the site. On
average, the more days worked, the more frequent and severe the symptoms were. Lung
function results based on spirometric measurement did not indicate any extensive
impairment among the workers surveyed. Julie Herbstman, ScM, a member of the investigation
team, said, Now we are in the process of tracking this group of workers into the
future, to document any potential changes in health status.
In May, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences awarded
the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health a grant to continue assessing the
health of workers involved in the cleanup of the World Trade Center site. Over the next
year, Dr. Geyh and her colleagues will develop a registry of the estimated 6,000 to 7,000
workers involved in removing and transporting debris from Ground Zero. The registry will
be used for future studies to assess the health of these workers.
http://www.jhsph.edu/Press_Room/Press_Releases/WTC_health.html
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