The NY Post reports:
A city official for the first time is revealing a rise in cancer among firefighters who served at Ground Zero, The Post has learned.
Dr. David Prezant, the Fire Department’s chief medical officer, has found that firefighters who dug for victims at the World Trade Center are getting cancer at a higher rate than firefighters before 9/11 — and some types of cancer are “bizarrely off the charts,” say sources briefed on the seven-year, federally funded study.
Prezant discussed the findings with members of a WTC medical-monitoring committee last month, several attendees said.
He has not yet disclosed the data, but sources say he has cited unusual rises in three blood cancers — leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma — as well as esophageal, prostate and thyroid cancers.
The bombshell report, planned for publication around the 10th anniversary of 9/11, would be the first to document a cancer-rate increase among rescue and recovery workers.
The city recently settled lawsuits by 10,000 WTC workers, more than 600 with cancer.
But officials have so far insisted there is no scientific proof that Ground Zero smoke and dust caused cancer.
An FDNY spokesman gave a statement for Prezant, saying, “The study is ongoing, and no conclusions have been reached on whether cancer rates have increased for firefighters.”
The state Health Department has confirmed that 345 Ground Zero workers have died of various cancers as of last June.
Grim toll
The state Health Department is studying 345 cancer deaths of 9/11 responders as of June 2010. A breakdown of the most common cancers and the number of deaths attributed to them:
* Digestive organs (esophageal, stomach, colon, liver, pancreas): 97
* Respiratory (lung, larynx): 96
* Blood cell (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, leukemia): 49
* Urinary tract: 19
* Brain: 18
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4 Responses
They needed a study to realize this?
Are they including Hatzalah members in this study as well??
@Saaiksr: They don’t have to include Hatzalah members as they are volunteers. The city is not responsible/nor liable for volunteers.
@1-Yes, they needed a study. You can’t draw conclusions like this without large numbers over a long time. You must have solid epidemiology to back up these types of conclusions.
@2 and 3–Maybe. Dr. Prezant may only be looking at FDNY statistics. The Medical Monitoring Program based at Mt. Sinai includes “all responders” so Hatzolah members may be eligible.