Coughing Up the Truth

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A week after the 9/11 attacks, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Director Christie Whitman issued a news release claiming that air pollution caused by the collapse of the World Trade Towers was no big deal. "I am glad to reassure the people of New York and Washington, D.C. that their air is safe to breath and their water is safe to drink," she said. Several leading outlets went along with these assurances, even repeating industry mouthpiece Steven Milloy's absurd claim that more asbestos at the WTC would have saved lives. Now the truth is emerging, etched in the lungs of the rescue workers who dug through the wreckage. "A year after the Sept. 11 attacks, medical studies are showing that hundreds of World Trade Center rescue workers are still struggling with respiratory problems," reports the Washington Post. "For firefighters, one of the better documented groups, illnesses have necessitated lengthy medical leaves. ... About half of the 358 firefighters who developed the 'World Trade Center cough' remain on medical leave or light duty, according to a study of 10,116 firefighters published in the New England Journal of Medicine's Sept. 12 issue. ... [N]early 500 firefighters may have to retire by year's end because of their failing health."