Panel agenda for Air Quality After 9/11 conference, March 2004

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Medical Co-Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Occupation and Medicine and also Co­

Director of the World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program. The

Screening Program was created less than one year after 9/11 and its work and findings were

described by Dr. Herbert in her testimony:

“...in June 2002, Mount Sinai received $11.8 million in federal funding to design and coordinate a consortium of health care centers in the New York metropolitan area and nationwide to provide fi-ee medical screening exams for WTC responders who were involved in various rescue and recovery efforts, the removal of debris, the restoration of vital services, and clean-up of the surrounding buildings in the WTC area and Staten Island landfill.

“In January, 2003, we released some preliminary findings from an analysis of 250 of the first 500 people who came through the program. To summarize, well over 50% of those evaluated had persistent World Trade Center-related effects close to one year after the event. This is a finding that, unfortunately, holds true today. Specifically,

• 78% of participating emergency responders reported at least one WTC-related pulmonary symptom that first developed or worsened as a result of their WTC-related efforts; 46% of the sample still experienced at least one pulmonary symptom in the month before the screening examination.

• 85% reported at least one WTC-related ear, nose or throat (ENT) symptom; 52% of the sample still experienced at least one ENT symptom in the month before the screening examination.

• 52% reported mental health symptoms requiring further mental health evaluation; approximately 1 in 5 of the sample reported symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“Most striking is the fact that a large proportion of this sample showed evidence (either symptoms or abnormal test results) suggestive of respiratory disease 10 months to one year after September 11, 2001. Seventy-three percent of the sample had either ENT symptoms or abnormal physical examination findings or both. Similarly, 57% of the sample had either pulmonary symptoms or an abnormal pulmonary function test or both. Unfortunately, however, many of those who've come to our screenings reporting persistent WTC related symptoms have

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