Recovery Workers and Their Exposure to Asbestos

The shock of the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 was felt worldwide, but perhaps few realized the full implications of this attack and how many it would really kill. Although workers at the World Trade Center were told that the air was safe, other reports show that it contained dangerously high levels of asbestos. This meant that anyone within the area who was not aware of this, could contract Mesothelioma. And since Mesothelioma often takes years to show up, we still do not know how many people have really been affected by this attack.

Reports of Asbestos in the World Trade Center Disaster

Although the EPA told workers that the air was safe to breathe, and that only low levels of asbestos dust could be found in the air, other reports indicate otherwise. Wynde Priddy of Vigilant however says that, “one dust sample tested by the New York Environmental Law and Justice Project (NYELJP) showed five percent asbestos, towering above the EPA’s own 1 percent threshold for human risk.” Other reports of asbestos dust in the area surrounding the World Trade Center ruins have also shown high levels of asbestos dust, which they believe to have come from the World Trade Center.

Exposure to Asbestos Leads to Mesothelioma

Recovery workers at the World Trade Center following 9/11 were not warned of the dangers of asbestos and were given no protection. In fact, they were told that the air was safe to breathe. Apart from Mesothelioma from the asbestos in the dust, recovery workers have also suffered a number of other respiratory diseases caused by other toxins present in the dust. Mesothelioma often goes years before the symptoms start to show, thus many recovery workers and others who were in the area of the World Trade Center disaster could have been exposed to asbestos dust, and will only contract Mesothelioma years later.