Terrified people who fled the Twin Towers before they collapsed on 9/11 – only to be caught in the massive suffocating dust cloud afterward – are the hardest-hit among survivors, a new federal health study has found.
Those trapped in the dust and debris cloud were nearly three times more likely to experience respiratory symptoms than other building survivors not bathed by the cloud and at least twice as likely to experience mental health problems, according to a survey of 8,500 survivors by the Centers for Disease Control.
“That was most surprising to us – the impact of the dust cloud,” noted Dr. Lorna Thorpe, deputy commissioner of the city Health Department and head of the World Trade Center Health Registry, which has been tracking the health of more than 71,000 people who worked at or were near Ground Zero on 9/11.
More than 60 percent of those who escaped the Twin Towers were caught in the enveloping swirl of trade center dust, according to the study.
“Building survivors overall had high levels of respiratory symptoms and high levels of mental health symptoms two or three years after the event, when we interviewed them,” Thorpe said.
The CDC report is based on interviews conducted between September 2003 and November 2004 with 8,418 adults who fled the collapsed towers and more than 30 other buildings that were either leveled or damaged in the terror strikes.
“These figures are high, they’re concerning – we now need to know if they’re still persisting,” said Thorpe.
“It’s important to get an update on the current physical and mental health status,” said Thorpe.
To that end, a follow-up study will be conducted.
It will get under way later this month and will include interviews with all 71,000 of the survivors on the registry – including building employees, residents of lower Manhattan, children who attended school in the area, rescue and recovery workers, and volunteers.
It will be the largest public health registry in the history of the United States, Thorpe said.
One of the study’s overall findings was that more than 56 percent of all survivors said they had new or worsening respiratory problems – including sinus ailments, shortness of breath, or a persistent cough.
More than 20 percent reported suffering ailments such as heartburn, indigestion and severe headaches.
Virtually all those in the study said they witnessed at least three “events” likely to cause psychological trauma.
Those events included seeing one of the planes crashing into the trade center, people jumping from one of the towers, other people being killed or injured, buildings collapsing, and survivors caught up in the dust cloud.
More than 64 percent said they were depressed, anxious or suffered from other emotional problems.
And 11 percent said they were in severe psychological distress when they were interviewed for the study.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) noted that the CDC’s report is “tragically no news at all to those who have been dealing with this crisis since the day of the attacks.”
Nadler called for “concrete action on two fronts.”
“First, it’s essential that we create and fund a medical screening a treatment program to give aid to survivors with physical and psychological symptoms, as opposed to just keeping track of them.
“Second . . . the federal government absolutely must undertake a serious, comprehensive, cleanup effort to rid New York of the toxic World Trade Center dust that still lurks in our buildings.”
AFTERMATH:
Of the civilians who escaped the Twin Towers and other nearby buildings:
* 57% reported experiencing new or worsening respiratory symptoms.
* 43% sustained a physical injury; eye injuries were the most common.
* 62% of those caught in the dust cloud suffered respiratory problems.
* 46% of those not caught in the dust cloud suffered respiratory problems.
Almost all building evacuees witnessed at least one psychologically traumatic event:
* 41% saw a plane hit one of the Twin Towers.
* 61% saw people falling or jumping from the Twin Towers.
* 65% saw buildings collapse.