|
Press Media Wire (Press Release) - May 05,2009 - (PressMediaWire) - In testimony given before the House Committee on Education and Labor,
one prominent physician has suggested that the first responders who
cleared the WTC site are still in grave danger.
Dr. Philip
Landrigan posed two important questions to the committee: Will the
current illnesses of those who cleaned up ground zero persist? And will
new diseases emerge as time goes on?
“We’d like the answer to be
‘no,’” says Steve Centore, a federal first responder, nuclear
physicist, a Navy veteran and author of the new book One of Them: A
First Responder’s Story. “But unfortunately, so many signs are pointing
to ‘yes.’ Year after year, more first responders are finding themselves
in critical condition. Thinking about what will happen another five or
ten years down the road is like waiting for a time bomb to explode.”
Dr.
Landrigan, professor and chair of the department of community and
preventive medicine at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York
City, noted that in the wake of the World Trade Center attack on
September 11, 2001, 21,000 first responders sought medical care for a
host of gastrointestinal, mental health and respiratory concerns—many
of which have only grown worse over time. But could there be more
problems for these brave men and women on the horizon?
“At
ground zero, we inhaled ‘toxic dust’ with a high concentration of
pulverized concrete, microscopic glass shards, asbestos, dioxins and
benzene, to name a few components,” says Mr. Centore. “We’ve already
seen a range of illnesses from this, up to including restrictive lung
disease. Who knows what these chemicals will do once they’ve had more
time inside our bodies?”
One of the Them is a searing account of
Mr. Centore’s months spent at ground zero and the years he has since
spent fighting a litany of serious health problems that put him among:
• Over 91,000 workers and volunteers who were exposed to ground zero’s toxic dust.
• An additional 400,000 New Yorkers who may have been heavily exposed and could face serious illnesses in the future.
• The 61% of first responders who developed lung ailments while cleaning up the site.
• An estimated 70% of the 50,000-plus first responders who have declared illnesses.
To
buy the breakout book One of Them: A First Responder’s Story, visit
www.SteveCentore.com or www.wadv-oneofthem.com. The book is also
available on Borders.com, Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
For more information about One of Them: A First Responder’s Story, contact Steve Centore directly at Scentore@yahoo.com.
WORLDWIDE
ASSOCIATION OF DISABLED VETERANS, INC. and author Steven Centore chose
Arbor Books, Inc. (www.ArborBooks.com) to design and promote One of
Them: A First Responder’s Story. Arbor Books is an internationally
renowned, full-service book design, ghostwriting and marketing firm.
(One
of Them: A First Responder’s Story by Steven M. Centore; ISBN:
0-9801274-0-8; $16.95; 208 pages; 5½”x 8½”; softcover; Worldwide
Association of Disabled Veterans, Inc.) |
