by Kevin Caruso
In early 2005, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) released an important research report on the effects of the dust that filled the air after the collapse of the Twin Towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, on 911.
The report found that the air was “heavily contaminated” with asbestos particles, which are known to cause mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is an extremely dangerous, aggressive cancer; and there are currently no effective treatments for it. Thus the mortality rate is very high.
Mesothelioma may take many years to develop, so 911 survivors will be at risk decades into the future.
911 survivors at highest risk are those who inhaled the most dust on 911, which would include rescue workers at Ground Zero, tower survivors, and residents in the Ground Zero area.
Additional independent research data supports MARF’s findings.
MARF recommended to Congress that a National Mesothelioma Research and Treatment Program be established to work for effective mesothelioma treatments.
America 911.com strongly supports MARF’s position and strongly supports all 911 survivors.
To all 911 survivors at risk for methothelioma:
My friends, please realize that THERE IS HOPE.
One of the most important statements that MARF made in its press release was this:
MARF's Science Advisory Board and other
experts believe that recent developments in experimental treatments and
protocols demonstrate that with adequate funding, a cure for this cruel
disease is within reach.
There is hope. We just need to make sure that our hero 911 survivors receive the help that we need
and that adequate funding is obtained for mesothelioma research.
There is hope.
We support all 911 survivors!
Below are excerpts from the Mesothelioman Applied Research Foundation’s research report on the effects of the 911 air:
Are future deaths and injuries likely as a result of the terrorist attack of 9-11? Can we establish that contamination from the dust of the collapse of the towers might be the cause of future health problems
among residents and
rescue workers?
We know that the gray
cloud which covered lower
the immediate aftermath,
contained a variety of substances that are usually injurious to human health.
These included traces of glass shards, asbestos, fiberglass, pulverized concrete,
lead, mercury, cadmium, dioxins, PCB's, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as well
as benzene.
Significant media attention has already been directed at the short term health
impact of exposure to this concoction. It now appears that many first
responders, cleanup crews and local residents have fallen ill with a variety of
respiratory ailments, including a "World Trade Center Cough" caused by
bronchial responsiveness as well as "ear, nose, and throat problems."
These
have affected fully 88 percent of those who participated in a Mount Sinai School
of Medicine study of the rescue workers. These data, and numerous anecdotal
accounts of police and firefighters placed on disability due to similar ailments,
have made it important to document more clearly the nature and degree of the
exposure to potentially toxic substances that took place.
It is known that a large amount of asbestos was used to insulate the lower floors
of the Twin Towers. Estimates range from 100 to as high as 1000 tons but it
remains unclear how much asbestos actually became airborne on 9-11. It also
isn't known yet how much asbestos found its way into adjacent buildings before
they were cleaned up. The collapse of the towers was clearly an unprecedented
event. Nothing like it has been seen before in connection with asbestos
exposure. Was this asbestos event significant enough to cause future cases of
mesothelioma?
The attack of 9-11 was unprecedented in terms of an asbestos exposure event.
History, therefore, can't guide us as to what the exact cancer risk is, but it
appears more than likely that a health crisis will unfold over the next two to
three decades unless we find a cure for mesothelioma.
Pictures and videos of
pervasive dust clouds and
"poor" protective
equipment
are widely
available. Is this sufficient
to prove that conditions on
the ground in those first
few days represented a
bolus8, or extremely
massive, toxin exposure of
WTC dust? Unfortunately,
none of these questions
have yet been definitively
answered and we therefore
don't understand the long term health risk. Resolving these questions is more
than a moral imperative. It is a matter of the greatest urgency if we are to have
the time to develop a cure for mesothelioma and stop any more names from
being added to the list of victims of the terrorist attack of 9-11.
Asbestos In The Towers
The World Trade Center wasn't completed
until 1973 and New York City banned the use of asbestos in 1971. This meant
that only the first 64 floors of the towers were sprayed with asbestos fire
retardant.9 The upper floors of the building received a different, and some say a
less effective, passive fire protection treatment. The other buildings that formed
the rest of the WTC were completed after the towers and were also protected
with an asbestos replacement.
The metal beams that formed the frame of the Twin Towers were given a fire
retardant coating by spraying an asbestos-containing foam onto the cross
members during construction. Asbestos Corporation of Canada even advertised
the "fire retardant" advantages of the asbestos used in the towers in a 1981 ad.
How much asbestos was actually used in the
construction of buildings one and two? A
review of available sources was done by the
Independent Media (www.indymedia.com) in
2001 and found that W.R. Grace, U.S.
Mineral, and others were involved in placing
asbestos insulation, floor tiles and other
incidental building materials into the towers.
According to Indymedia's research, "W.R.
Grace asbestos-containing insulation was
used at the WTC." "Grace Vermiculite...was
2-5 percent asbestos. 100,000 80 pound
bags of this vermiculite were used in the
WTC. In addition, 9,150 pounds of MonoKote
3 was used at the WTC. MonoKote 3 was
about 20 percent asbestos. Therefore, in
total about 201,183 pounds of pure asbestos fiber from Grace alone was used in
the WTC."11 According to the National Resources Defense Council report of
February 2002, an estimated 300 to 400 tons of asbestos from all vendors was
used during construction.12 We can reliably estimate, therefore, that at least 400
tons of asbestos fibers, and possibly more, were in the buildings at the time of
the collapse.
The WTC dust was created from the mix of volatile chemicals and toxic metals
that had been vaporized in the tower fires and pulverized by the collapse. These
materials were further combined with the friable substances found throughout
the buildings, such as fuel oil, plastics, paper etc.
The sheer impact of the
collapse, combined with the intense heat of the fires, created a light and easily
dispersed toxic dust that filled the air and entered nearby buildings under intense
pressure, occupying every available space within the structures.
In the opinion
of RJL, the WTC signature dust was more easily aerosolized and more easily
respirable (breathable) due to the unique way in which it was created. It was
found throughout the entire structure within accessible, as well as inaccessible,
locations in the building.
Ordinary asbestos dust is
created through destructive
forces that are considerably
less forceful than the tower
collapse. The asbestos fibers
found in the WTC signature
dust were much thinner,
lighter, and shorter, making
them much more likely to
penetrate the lung and to
translocate across tissue
boundaries. Such properties
are directly implicated as
being causative for
mesothelioma.
Remember that there is hope.
Again,one of the most statements that MARF made in its press releas was this:
MARF's Science Advisory Board and other
experts believe that recent developments in experimental treatments and
protocols demonstrate that with adequate funding, a cure for this cruel
disease is within reach.
To view the complete report on the marf.org website, please click below:
MARF 911 Report - marf.org
