9/11 firefighters hit by autoimmune diseases

                     THE attack on the World Trade Center changed the world 13 years ago. We're now beginning to understand the long-lasting impact it had on the health of emergency workers who cleared up the site.

Nearly 16,000 firefighters and other emergency crew worked on the site over a period of 10 months after the attack. As well as higher rates of cancer and respiratory problems, it now seems these people are more likely to suffer from autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

When the twin towers fell in 2001, they created an enormous amount of airborne dust that included pulverised cement, glass, silica, asbestos, lead and dioxins. Fires continued to burn for three months afterwards.

"Unlike ordinary building sites, there were unprecedented amounts of aerosolised dust and fumes," says Mayris Webber of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Face masks and respirators were available, but there was not always enough to go round, and some people didn't like using them for long periods, says Webber. "They were not consistently worn."


The health problems soon began. More than 70 per cent of firefighters developed a breathing problem in the first year, from coughing to asthma. Since then, they have also been diagnosed with higher than average rates of certain cancers.

Some of the chemicals in the World Trade Center dust have been linked with autoimmune diseases, so Webber's team decided to look for evidence in the workers' health records, kept as part of the fire department's monitoring programme.

Although the number was small – only 216 self-reported cases – Webber points out that you would normally expect very low rates of autoimmune disease in this group of particularly fit and healthy people. So instead of comparing the firefighters with average New Yorkers, they analysed 59 medically confirmed cases alongside firefighters in the monitoring programme who had not developed any autoimmune disorders.

They found that those affected were likely to have worked on the site for longer. The rate of cases was three times higher in those who worked for the full 10 months than in who stayed only one month. On average it took five years to develop the disease.

The workers were exposed to such a complex mix of chemicals it may not be possible to identify the culprits. However, we know that breathing compounds such as asbestos and silica into the lungs seems to make the immune system more reactive, says Jean Pfau of Idaho State University.

Publicising the effects of these chemicals on workers at the world's most famous demolition site could help those in the construction industry. They often come in contact with materials like silica so should be more aware of the dangers and the need for protective gear.