75% of FDNY who worked at Ground Zero acquired long-term illnesses: report
Nearly three-quarters of New York City’s Fire Department workers who worked amongst the smoldering, toxic rubble at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan now have some sort of long-term illness linked to their service, according to a new report from the department’s World Trade Center Health Program.
Of more than 15,200 firefighters, paramedics and other FDNY workers, more than 11,300 had an illness certified under the guidelines of the federally backed program, ranging from chronic acid reflux and minor breathing problems on the low end to a broad spectrum of mental health problems to deadly lung ailments and lethal cancers.