Health effects of World Trade Center site workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fischler D ; Herbert R ; Levin S ; Milek D ; Moline J ; Piligian G ; Skloot G ; Szeinuk J ; Teirstein A ; Wilk-Rivard E
• Description:
  The attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) site and the subsequent collapse of the towers on September 11 generated an aerosol containing a wide range of toxic and irritant agents. A partial list of these materials includes pulverized concrete, gypsum, pulverized glass, asbestos, silica, fibrous glass, heavy metals, soot, volatile organic compounds, acid mists and organic products of combustion, among them polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A recurring theme with regard to exposure conditions at the "Ground Zero" site was the uneven provision and use of adequate respiratory protection, the clinical consequences of which became apparent over the ensuing several months. The populations at risk for adverse health consequences, in decreasing intensity of exposure, included those who were caught in the blackout (then "greyout") of the collapse cloud; the Ground Zero first responders and workers and volunteers involved in the rescue and recovery effort over the first few days; those involved in restoration of essential services and infrastructure (electric, gas, transportation, etc.), debris removal crews and their support services, building clean up teams, persons who eventually reoccupied offices, commercial and school buildings near the WTC site, and community residents. The extent of the clean-up effort, now 8 months in duration, and the necessity of moving truckloads of debris through public streets to the barge-loading operation at the Hudson River for transport to Staten Island increased the number of persons at risk for exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Asthma Asthma, Occupational Emergencies Emergency Responders Environmental Exposure Environmental Pollution Hazardous Substances Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Promotion Hydrocarbons Irritants Mental Health Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Stress, Psychological

  More +
• Keywords:
  Airway-obstruction Airway-resistance Author Keywords: WTC Health Effects Biological-effects Bronchial-asthma Emergency-responders Emergency-response Environmental-contamination Environmental-exposure Hazardous-materials Hazardous-waste-cleanup Health-hazards Health-programs Medical-monitoring Mental-stress Occupational-exposure Physiological-effects Polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons Psychological-responses PTSD RADS Rescue-workers Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-protection Respiratory-system-disorders Toxic-materials

  More +
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  42
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046155
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2002 Dec; 42(6):545-547
• Contact Point Address:
  Stephen Levin, Medical Director, Mount Sinai Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, NY
• Email:
  stephen.levin@mssm.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• Performing Organization:
  Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040715
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20110630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3cae2db012fb3647968631dbd8e8ad10f3affb3d2c836861fc382dfedd167c72cfbd9b5f600a9487b63fe8b0c3c3f4fcf4f35ac49560efdbe2b5f1bef07a5e1b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201288/cdc_201288_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 49.22 KB ]