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Reggie Hilaire was a rookie police officer when the hijacked planes flew into the World Trade Center. He spent the initial weeks after the attacks patrolling Harlem, miles away from the disaster zone, then was sent to Staten Island, where he spent weeks at a city landfill sorting through rubble and looking for human remains. At the landfill, he wore a Tyvek suit, boots, gloves and a respirator to protect him. Months later, he also worked as a guard near ground zero, wearing no protective gear but never working on the debris pile itself. Hilaire didn't develop the hacking cough or other problems experienced by those who inhaled big doses of soot. But he worried about his health, periodically visiting doctor's offices and clinics. In 2005, at age 34, a lump showed up in his neck. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and successfully treated. Months later, he got more bad news: Doctors noticed he was anemic and investigated, leading to diagnosis of a second cancer
-- multiple myeloma, a blood cancer normally seen in the elderly. Since roughly half of people with the diagnosis never get sick from it, doctors monitor a patient's condition rather than put them through chemotherapy and other difficult treatments
-- which is the case with Hilaire, still on the force. His medical bills have been covered by insurance, and to date, he hasn't applied for compensation from the federal fund. Doctors don't know what causes multiple myeloma, but say genetics plays a role and that it is more common in black men. Hilaire, who is black, is convinced that toxins at ground zero are to blame. "I've had cancer twice since 9/11, and I'm 41 years old," he said. "It would be some coincidence." The U.S. government traditionally has been cautious about labeling things as cancer-causing agents, choosing to wait for multiple studies to confirm and reconfirm such a conclusion. The famed 1964 surgeon general's report that permanently tied smoking to lung cancer came out more than a decade after a series of studies showed the link. The Environmental Protection Agency has taken decades to decide about other carcinogens. Howard's agency, NIOSH, has a conservative reputation as well. But with this decision, Howard broke from that history. "I think this was a special case," said Richard Clapp, a professor emeritus of environmental health at Boston University. No question, bad stuff was in the air and on the ground. Asbestos, lead, mercury, PCBs and dioxins were all found at the smoldering World Trade Center site for months after the terror attacks. Dioxins have been associated with promoting the growth of some pre-existing cancerous cells, Clapp noted. Previous studies have shown some of the contaminants -- like asbestos, arsenic and soot, for example
-- have led to cancers in workers exposed to hefty amounts for long periods of time. The fallout was a terrible mixture of toxins with significant potential to harm people, said Elizabeth Ward, an American Cancer Society vice president and cancer researcher who headed the advisory panel that made the recommendation to Howard. "This was a really unique exposure," said Ward. Based on the best available evidence, the panel decided it was likely that people could get cancer, she said, and that it was better to offer help now than when it was too late. Indeed, Howard and Ward have a number of supporters in the public health and scientific community who think it was the wisest decision, given the large human need.
"I think for Dr. Howard, it's a very tough decision to make. I'm sure he knew that whatever he said, people are going to complain about it," said Daniel Wartenberg, an epidemiology professor at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey. "In my view, I hope he is wrong. I hope no one gets sick," he added. A mere two years after 9/11, former New York City police detective John Walcott, 47, was successfully treated for a common type of leukemia that doesn't hit most people until about age 60. Walcott arrived at the World Trade Center just after the second tower fell and spent months searching for human remains
-- on the pile, in empty buildings nearby, and later at the city landfill where the rubble had been taken. He was so sure his cancer would eventually be covered by the federal program, he dropped his negligence lawsuit against the city last winter, as was required to remain eligible for the fund. He is well aware that some scientists question whether illnesses like his were really caused by ground zero toxins. But he has no doubts. "My heart told me I got it from there," he said. ___ Online: Howard's statement about the program, and the advisory panel's report:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/
wtc/stacpetition001.html
[Associated
Press;
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