'World Trade Center Cough' Hits Firefighters
Respiratory ailment disables 173, some perhaps permanently

September 10, 2002
By John Lauerman

A respiratory ailment doctors are calling ``World Trade Center cough'' has disabled 173 New York City firefighters, some perhaps permanently, health officials said.

At least half of the firefighters who went to the twin towers in Manhattan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack wore no protective masks because their equipment was designed for firefighting, not rescue work, said David Prezant, deputy chief medical officer of the New York City Fire Department, at a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention press conference.

Almost every firefighter who visited the scene of the disaster had trouble breathing, and more than 330 of them developed a cough in the weeks after Sept. 11, according to a study released simultaneously with an article by Prezant in the New England Journal of Medicine.

``They were exposed to a massive dust cloud, and that includes respiratory airborne particulate matter,'' Prezant said. ``Even if it doesn't include a single chemical, it is incredibly toxic at that exposure.''

Eight percent of firefighters present when the towers collapsed acquired the newly identified disorder, characterized by irritation of the nose, throat, sinuses, lungs, and esophagus, Prezant said. Among those who had modest exposure to debris, 3 percent developed World Trade Center cough, along with 1 percent who had low exposure.

The CDC found the exposure of people working at the site to substances like asbestos, silica, heavy metals and other volatile compounds didn't exceed safety levels. However, the samples were obtained primarily after Sept. 17, when most of the dust and debris had already settled, the researchers said.

When battling blazes, firefighters carry a standard breathing gear designed for about 15 minutes of use.

``Once the World Trade Center collapsed, it became rescue operations,'' Prezant said. ``In that environment, the (standard gear's) time for use was not long enough, and it was way too heavy.''

``We're lucky none of our firefighters had'' a heart attack, Prezant said.

When firefighters used masks at all in the first three days of the rescue and cleanup, they typically were simple, disposable kinds that offered little protection. After that, more workers began using half-face respirators that provide greater protection.

As many as 500 New York firefighters may retire as a result of World Trade Center cough and other respiratory disabilities, Prezant said. On Sept. 11, the department had more than 11,330 members; 343 were killed in the disaster.

Almost 90 percent of firefighters who worked at the trade center site suffered from heartburn afterward, and just over half had nasal congestion and cold symptoms, the study found.

Rescue workers weren't the only ones to suffer lingering health affects from the disaster. More than one out of four staff at a high school and a college near the World Trade Center wreckage took sick time because of symptoms, such as eye, nose, and throat irritation and cough, after the attack. About one-third of school workers also reported having symptoms or major depression.

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