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U.S. Report Sees Wide Health Effects of 9-11
Attacks
Wed Sep 8, 6:05 PM ET
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most of the health
problems reported after the Sept. 11, 2001
attacks have involved respiratory difficulties
and mental distress, according to a U.S.
government report published on Wednesday.
Firefighters and other emergency workers showed
long-term respiratory problems, including a
syndrome called "WTC cough."
A separate study published on Wednesday also
showed subtle but significant effects on pregnant
women and their babies.
The hijacked plane attacks that destroyed the
World Trade Center created infernos that
enveloped much of New York in a pall of smoke and
dust loaded with toxic chemicals. Nearly 3,000
people were killed in the attacks and a similar
one on the Pentagon (news - web sites) in
Washington.
"The primary health effects include various
injuries, respiratory conditions, and mental
health effects," the Government Accountability
Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said
in a report summarizing the health problems.
"In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the
primary injuries were inhalation and
musculoskeletal injuries," said the report,
published on the Web at www.gao.gov.
"A range of respiratory conditions have also been
reported, including wheezing, shortness of
breath, sinusitis, asthma, and a new syndrome
called WTC cough, which consists of persistent
cough accompanied by severe respiratory
symptoms," it said.
'Almost all the firefighters who responded to the
attack experienced respiratory effects, and
hundreds had to end their firefighting careers
due to WTC-related respiratory illness."
The GAO said six separate registries had been set
up to monitor reports of health problems
following the attacks.
"Some long-term health effects, such as lung
cancer, may not appear until several decades
after a person has been exposed to a harmful
agent," it said.
"The most commonly reported mental health effects
include symptoms associated with depression,
stress, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress
disorder...."
In a separate study in the journal Environmental
Health Perspectives, researchers found that
pregnant women who were close to the twin towers
at the time of the attack were more likely to
give birth to lighter babies.
The Columbia Center for Children's Environmental
Health surveyed 300 nonsmoking women who
delivered babies at three hospitals in lower
Manhattan.
Babies born to the women living within two-miles
of the site weighed on average 149 grams or 5.2
ounces less at birth compared to infants born to
the other pregnant women.
"This study indicates that fetal growth and
length of gestation were significantly reduced as
a result of exposure to pollutants or stress, or
both, from the destruction of the World Trade
Center, and shortened gestation means
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