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

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

received either no clinical care or inadequate clinical care at the time of their first evaluation with us.

“We've now seen over 8000 men and women in our screening program, and the rates of persistent upper and lower respiratory symptoms remain very high, more than 2 years after the terrible events of 9/11 and the exposures that followed.”

Phillip H. McArdle, Health and Safety officer for the Uniformed Firefighters Association, also

testified before the Subcommittee regarding 9/11 related illnesses and disability within the New

York City Fire Department. Mr. McArdle stated that:

“As of October 2003 the FDNY has retired approximately 1800 firefighters due to WTC related illnesses. Both the union and the fire department agree that this imprecedented retirement rate will continue as more firefighters are examined and diagnosed with 9/11 related illnesses. All 1800 of these firefighters were healthy before 9/11 and would have most likely worked for the Fire Department for an average of 20 years or longer which had been the trend prior to 9/11. Instead, we have members who in some cases are as young as 30 years old who will be disabled for the rest of their lives. As the retirement age decreases it will cost more for long-term health care than ever before; prescription drugs is one of our biggest concerns.

“The NYC Firefighter WTC Medical Monitoring/Treatment Program that will be run by the FDNY Bureau of Health Services with the Joint sponsorship of the UFA, LIFQA and EMS/Paramedic Unions has found that in the first month 4 firefighters required life support (mechanical ventilation) of chest surgery for severe respiratory distress following WTC exposure during the collapse. 95% of NYC Firefighters complained of new-onset respiratory symptoms (mostly cough) during that first week. In the first 6 months following the collapse 343 FDNY firefighters required more than 1 month of medical leave for new on-set respiratory illnesses such as asthma. And nearly 2 years later over 1800 FDNY firefighters have or are in the process of receiving permanent disability for new onset past- WTC asthma and respiratory injury. Random voluntary testing of the highest exposed group of NYC Firefighters present during the first day of the collapse has found that 25% have new onset, post-WTC airway hyper reactivity/asthma on objective medical testing methacholinechallenge testing). This has persisted on serial testings. Firefighters who were not present during the collapse but there doing intense rescue/recovery efforts over the next 48 hours nearly 7% have new-onset, post-WTC, and persistent airway hyper-reactivity.”

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