Health Care Without Harm:
Health after 9/11, Possible Studies

Health Care Without Harm Campaign (iatp-hcwh@iatp.org)
Posted: 10/17/2001
By sbcac@earthlink.net

This message includes information on NYC HCWH orgs who have worked in rescue and recovery efforts, as well as proposed health studies of affected workers and residents which would be of interest to HCWHers, because what we saw at the world trade center included an open burn, the uncontrolled, unfiltered incineration of thousands of highly toxic substances--including chlorinated plastics. In a meeting last week with the New York City Dept of Health we were informed of the following studies where funding has been applied for:

1. Columbia and Johns Hopkins have applied for funding to do a study on dioxin in workers in the area.
2. The Mt. Sinai and Columbia Centers for children's Environmental Health are applying for NIEHS $. for a study on pregnancies exposed at Ground Zero. Among other things they will be looking for bio-markers in moms and cord blood, and would hope to follow infants for long term health affects.
3. NIOSH and the firefighters and police union are planning a longitudinal study of emergency responders. This study will also include Bio-markers These studies are particularly important because current monitoring is only being done for asbestos and particulates. It is unclear what monitoring was done in the first week, and none of those initial results are being made available to the public. Thus, we do not know from ambient monitoring what the extent of exposures were in the affected area. The results of the studies on affected persons may help our P2 and anti-incineration work.

Anyone who has the political connections to help encourage funding for these studies would be welcomed.

Also--three HCWH member organizations in NY have been active participants in health 9/11 health efforts. I'm sure they would appreciate hearing from you. The are the New York Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, which has done amazing work on worker exposures and health in the area. Their website, www.nycosh.org is chock full of wonderful information. check it out. 1199 SEIU, the health workers union here in NYC, lost one of their EMT members who perished at the site. The wonderful work of 1199ers and other health workers in hospitals near the site.

Contact 1199 to contribute to a fund for the EMT Marc Sullins' family, or to help 1000's other dead, injured or displaced SEIU workers at the site. The New York State Nurses Assn also has information on their website, www.nysna.org, including very moving stories of nurses who have treated the injured and seen the dead.

Bill Ravanesi MA, MPH
Boston Campaign Director
Health Care Without Harm
19 Pleasantview Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
617-524-2366 Boston Office
413-565-2315 residential office
413-565-2474 fax
http://www.noharm.org