Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – A 25 anni esatti dagli attentati dell’11 settembre 2001, che provocarono il crollo delle Torri Gemelle e migliaia di vittime lasciando la città di New York e il mondo intero sotto shock, uno dei temi che stanno facendo più discutere alla vigilia delle celebrazioni riguarda le gravi conseguenze sulla salute della popolazione e degli operatori che furono in prima linea nei soccorsi.
Un doloroso capitolo che ha aggiunto negli anni un ulteriore carico al tributo pagato dalla Grande Mela. Le immagini del giorno degli attentati sono un efficace promemoria: diversi video immortalarono l’impressionante nube di polveri e detriti provocata dai crolli al World Trade Center che investì letteralmente l’area di Lower Manhattan. Cosa resta dell’inferno di Ground Zero lo documentano per esempio i report su 25 anni di monitoraggio medico, trattamento e ricerca, condotti nell’ambito del Programma sanitario dei vigili del fuoco di New York per inquadrare gli effetti a lungo termine sulla salute degli operatori a seguito degli eventi dell’11 settembre e delle operazioni di soccorso e recupero in quel che restava del World Trade Center.
Ma punta ad andare ancora più a fondo l”operazione verità’ lanciata dal sindaco di Nyc, Zohran Kwane Mamdani, che ha varato un portale online nel quale sono state rilasciate oltre 170mila pagine di documenti (e gradualmente ne verranno aggiunte altre). Secondo quanto riferito dalle autorità cittadine – riporta la ‘Cnn’ – i documenti, finora mai resi noti, facevano parte di un insieme di 68 scatole custodite in un ufficio del governo cittadino, scoperte lo scorso anno.
“Per anni, i newyorkesi hanno chiesto di poter accedere ai documenti della città riguardanti le conseguenze a lungo termine sulla salute causate dai terribili attacchi dell’11 settembre. Per anni, le loro richieste sono state negate e ignorate. Tutto questo finisce oggi”, ha annunciato Mamdani via X. “Questi documenti dimostrano ciò che le famiglie e i soccorritori sanno da tempo: l’amministrazione comunale era a conoscenza della pericolosità delle condizioni intorno a Ground Zero, eppure ha mentito ai newyorkesi”, ha attaccato il sindaco. “Sono morte più persone a causa di malattie correlate all’11 settembre di quante ne siano state uccise il giorno stesso. Mentre celebriamo il 25esimo anniversario, il nostro impegno a non dimenticare mai non vacillerà”. Dai documenti, secondo i media Usa, traspare che i funzionari della Grande Mela rassicurarono i residenti e i soccorritori sulla sicurezza dell’aria, nonostante le contraddizioni emerse dai loro stessi dati interni.
In the years since, according to the introduction to the portal that collects the documents, "thousands of other people have become seriously ill, often fatally, due to toxins and debris, although the true extent of the impact of the attacks has not yet been fully understood." Hidden within the folds of the documents is evidence of the risks to which many residents may have been exposed. Exchanges of communications between different parties seem to suggest that officials may have misled the public by withholding information about dangerous levels of asbestos in the air, covering up serious lead contamination at the Department of Transportation headquarters, and discouraging the use of respirators among emergency responders, CNN reports. Some passages mention the "serious and persistent health problems" developed by many residents and workers, including chronic nosebleeds, rashes, headaches, new-onset asthma, and coughs, due to the inhalation of "highly alkaline and caustic dust." The impact of the dust would therefore have been downplayed. And the documents also contain evidence of A study by scientists at the University of California, Davis, found that the air contained "alarming concentrations" of ultrafine particulate matter capable of penetrating and "depositing deep in the lungs." According to the September 11 Memorial and Museum, of at least 140 people from all 50 US states enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program, 49 were diagnosed with cancer certified as WTC-related. Also on this front, there is data on firefighters who worked at Ground Zero, for whom a study showed elevated cancer rates.
The report on the health impact 25 years after the tragic events at the World Trade Center, released recently by Mamdani and New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore, and produced by the FDNY World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP), presents monitoring data on firefighters, paramedics, officers, civilians, retirees, and other FDNY members who responded to the World Trade Center and participated in rescue and recovery operations. The findings, as explained in a statement, underscore the importance of early and continuous health monitoring, along with integrated care for exposure-related mental and physical health conditions.
What does the report say about the long-term consequences of that disaster? It notes, for example, that 10.562 program members are certified for at least one physical condition, including lower respiratory diseases, upper respiratory diseases, and gastroesophageal reflux disease; and that 4.496 members are certified for at least one mental health condition. However, the number of people reporting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression has decreased compared to the period immediately following 9/11.
Currently, 4.257 members are certified for cancer. The most common cancer among members of the Firefighters' Health Program is non-melanoma skin cancer, followed by prostate cancer. The authors emphasize the value of the program for those involved in post-attack operations: 86% of World Trade Center responders diagnosed with cancer are still alive five years after their diagnosis, compared to 63% of New York State residents who were not exposed to the World Trade Center and were diagnosed with the same type of cancer. Over 84% of registered responders still participate in the FDNY WTCHP program. The information gathered through this initiative, the promoters explain, has been crucial in demonstrating the need for continued federal support. The research helped inform Congress when it reauthorized the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act in 2010, and again when it reauthorized the program in 2015 and allocated the necessary funding in 2026 to ensure that the WTCP can continue to care for responders and survivors for the rest of their lives.
“This report reminds us of a debt New York can never fully repay. Twenty-five years ago, FDNY members rushed toward danger on our city’s darkest day and returned to Ground Zero day after day to help our city recover,” Mayor Mamdani said. “Today, more than 10,000 FDNY members are living with a 9/11-related illness. Our obligation to them and their families didn’t end with putting out the fires or clearing the rubble. We must remain steadfast in ensuring that every person who answered the call receives the care and support they deserve.” Each of these workers, “and every New Yorker who was in Lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001, and in the weeks that followed, remembers the dust and debris that surrounded the World Trade Center site,” Bonsignore added. “When we at the FDNY say we don't forget, we mean it, and that's especially true for our members who have fallen ill. Twenty-five years later, we continue to see and feel the lasting health effects of that day, and we know that the research conducted continues to help us better understand these diseases and save lives.”
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