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--- Begin Message ----Caveat Lector- There are below, 5 items, two reports on lingering illness among rescue workers, two on the Leavitt confirmation, and one on last week's Forum on WTC Env. Health Research.1. New York Newsday, October 29, 2003, Ground Zero Illnesses Linger, Rescuers suffering from fumes, debris, By Laurie Garrett http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/wtc/ny-hswtc293515725oct29,0,6976947,print.story?coll=nyc-topheadlines-left 2. October 29, 2003, New York Daily News, Ground Zero Workers Still Suffering, By Paul H.B. Shin http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/131779p-117628c.html 3. October 29, 2003, New York Times, After Long Delay, Senate Confirms Utah Governor as Head of E.P.A., by Jennifer 8. Lee http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/29/politics/29LEAV.html?pagewanted=print&position= 4. Associated Press Writer Associated Press Newswires, Utah Gov. Leavitt Confirmed As EPA Chief, By John Heilprin [no URL available to me] 5. Oct 28 - Nov 03, 2003, Downtown Express, Volume 16 € Issue 22, W.T.C. Health Survey is Poorly Run, Some Say, By Elizabeth O'Brien http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_27/wtchealthsurvey.html **** ******** **** 1.New York Newsday, October 29, 2003, Ground Zero Illnesses Linger, Rescuers suffering from fumes, debris By Laurie Garrett http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/wtc/ny-hswtc293515725oct29,0,6976947,print.story?coll=nyc-topheadlines-left Up to half of the workers who toiled at Ground Zero are suffering long-term health problems caused by inhaling fumes and dust from debris, according to testimony delivered at a congressional hearing in Manhattan yesterday. Firefighters' representatives reported their ranks of disabled from the Sept. 11, 2001, disaster have reached 2,400, and other workers said they never received respirators or other protective gear at Ground Zero during the first two weeks. The panel also heard that many who worked at the site have been unable to collect workers' compensation claims. The hearing was convened at the request of Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), who opened the session by saying that "40 percent of the Ground Zero workers lack health insurance. How in the world are other first responders going to respond to other disasters if they see that Sept. 11 responders are not given health care?" Mount Sinai Hospital's Dr. Robin Herbert said her staff has screened more than 8,000 police officers, cleanup workers and other men and women who toiled on the debris pile, finding that half have had respiratory, sinus and/or mental health problems for more than a year. She said 40 percent lack health insurance, 75 percent have respiratory or lung problems and a third are now unemployed. Jimmy Willis, assistant to the president of the Transport Workers Union, told the House subcommittee that "of 4,000 workers in our union who worked at Ground Zero, half are seriously ill now." John Graham, health and safety instructor for the Carpenters' Union, said he worked at Ground Zero for 262 straight days and is permanently disabled. He displayed a sack full of medications he now uses daily, including an anti-asthma drug, an antibiotic, an inhaler for asthma attacks, a sinus spray and assorted steroids. "Today I am a chronically ill man who is anxious about my ability to support my family," Graham said. David Rapp, a member of construction union Local 66 who worked at Ground Zero for five months, said he used to be strong and athletic, but "now I can't even take out my household garbage." All of these men said they have been denied workers' compensation medical coverage. Maloney expressed surprise: "The State of New York got $175 million from Congress to pay out workers' compensation ... but you can't get it?" Mount Sinai's Dr. Stephen Levin said most of his Ground Zero patients have been denied workers' compensation coverage. He called the system "dysfunctional." The fund is meant to cover the medical needs of only those who volunteered to work at Ground Zero, most without pay, and none of those claims has been denied, according to Jon Sullivan, spokesman for the New York State Workers' Compensation Board. In contrast, he said, employed workers are expected to be covered by their employers' insurance. Pat Clark, regional administrator for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said that during 10 months of rescue and cleanup her agency handed out 131,000 respirators and repeatedly told workers they ought to wear their masks. Clark acknowledged that no such precautions were taken on behalf of the workers who cleaned the insides of homes and offices in lower Manhattan. Firefighters wore oxygen tanks part of the time but found the equipment too heavy and cumbersome during rescue operations, said Phil McArdle, health and safety officer for the Uniformed Firefighters Association. "These masks are nearly impossible to wear during prolonged work activities," he said, citing their discomfort and interference with communication. Graham, sensing some panel members were critical of workers' failure to protect themselves, said angrily, "I challenge you to try working with a respirator for 12 hours. Just try." Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc. ********* 2. October 29, 2003, New York Daily News, Ground Zero Workers Still Suffering, by Paul H.B. Shin http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/131779p-117628c.html One-third of Ground Zero workers are suffering serious health problems, and many face life-long illnesses, doctors told a congressional panel yesterday. But much of the money earmarked to help the firefighters, cops, construction workers and others sickened by the toxic plume at the World Trade Center site is stuck in limbo. The funds have been authorized by the federal government but not disbursed. "Surely those who responded so selflessly to the disaster deserve better," said Dr. Robin Herbert, co-director of a health screening program at Mount Sinai Medical Center for 7,000 Ground Zero workers. Testifying before the House Committee on Government Reform at the upper East Side hospital, Herbert said 40% of those enrolled in Mount Sinai's program have no health insurance, and a third are unemployed. John Graham, a carpenter diagnosed with a respiratory illness called reactive airway disease, said he and his co-workers found themselves coughing uncontrollably and vomiting while working 12-hour shifts at Ground Zero. "Today, I'm a chronically ill man," Graham said. "It breaks my heart not to be able to run and play with my two daughters." But the $90 million in federal funding approved for Mount Sinai's program is enough to follow the participants for only five years - too short a time to gauge long-term illnesses, Herbert said. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), a member of the committee, said she plans to introduce legislation to provide health coverage for Ground Zero workers. "It's distressing that two years after the fact, government efforts seem so short of what's needed to help 9/11 victims," she said. More than 10,000 have signed up for the city Health Department's World Trade Center health registry, which will track those exposed to toxic fumes or dust after the twin towers' collapsed. ********* 3. October 29, 2003, New York Times, After Long Delay, Senate Confirms Utah Governor as Head of E.P.A., by Jennifer 8. Lee http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/29/politics/29LEAV.html?pagewanted=print&position= WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 — Gov. Michael O. Leavitt of Utah was confirmed on Tuesday as head of the Environmental Protection Agency and will take over next week at the agency, which is the scene of major environmental battles. Mr. Leavitt, who was confirmed, 88 to 8, will contend with suits by states that challenge the Bush administration decision not to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and easing rules for coal-burning power plants. He also has to determine how to deal with mercury that coal-burning plants emit. The administration has said it wants to set draft regulations for those emissions by Dec. 15. Rules have to be in place by 2007. Some agency watchers raised concerns about how Mr. Leavitt would handle occasionally tense relations with the White House. "The tests begin to become when he has a tough regulatory decision to make and the White House starts leaning on him to go one way or another," Russell E. Train, environmental administrator under Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford, said. "He is going to have to make a decision which will tell us how he will run the agency, whether he will maintain his independence of the White House or subject himself to the influence of the White House." "I accept this responsibility knowing that the president is committed to substantially more environmental progress and doing it in a way that does not compromise our place in the world competitively," Mr. Leavitt said in a statement on Tuesday. The confirmation vote ended a 56-day process that included a boycott by Democrats and partisan debate on the administration's environmental record. The three previous administrators won approval within two weeks of their nominations. The confirmation of Mr. Leavitt, a three-term governor with strong ties to many senators, headed for a quick ending this week after it became clear that the Republicans had enough votes to override the six Senate Democrats who had placed holds on his confirmation. Minutes before a critical vote on Monday night, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York said she had reached an accord with the White House to re-examine the air quality of Lower Manhattan and would drop her opposition. "There was no way we were going to get the votes to stop the vote from occurring," Mrs. Clinton, who ultimately voted for Mr. Leavitt, said in an interview. "A lot of people know him. They are impressed with his getting things done. There were members of the Democratic Caucus who have personal longstanding relationships with him." When asked in a briefing about Mrs. Clinton and the confirmation process, he said, "I've had no unhappy personal moments related to the confirmation." In the debate, Democrats focused on the administration, with a handful attacking Mr. Leavitt's record in Utah. "This vote should not be seen as an endorsement of the Bush administration environmental policy, but a vote in support of a fine and honorable man who has an extremely difficult job ahead," said Senator James M. Jeffords, the Vermont independent who is the ranking minority member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey, placed a hold on Mr. Leavitt because of his record in Utah. Mr. Lautenberg criticized Mr. Leavitt for placing "economic gain of regulated industries above protecting the long-term health of the public." Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, criticized enforcement on clean water and toxic dumping in Utah. Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, defended Mr. Leavitt and said environmental activists were misleading the Democrats. "I might as well point out that Utah is also in complete compliance with E.P.A.'s air quality standard," Mr. Hatch said. "This is rare among states, and it wasn't the case when Governor Leavitt took office." Of the six senators who placed holds, three are Democratic presidential hopefuls who not only did not speak in the debate, but were also absent from the vote. They were John Edwards of North Carolina, John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut. Senator Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico, also was absent. Along with Mr. Lautenberg, the others opposing the confirmation were Barbara Boxer of California, Jon Corzine of New Jersey, Mark Dayton of Minnesota, Mr. Durbin, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia and Charles E. Schumer of New York. ******** 4. October 28, 2003, Associated Press Writer Associated Press Newswires, Utah Gov. Leavitt Confirmed As EPA Chief, by John Heilprin (c) 2003. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate confirmed Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday, filling a four-month vacancy with a lopsided vote that did not reflect the efforts by some Democrats to turn his nomination into a referendum on President Bush's environmental policies. By a vote of 88-8, senators backed Bush's choice of the Utah Republican to head the nation's lead agency for enforcing environmental rules. Leavitt said he will start the job at EPA on Nov. 6, a day after he resigns as governor. His first task, Leavitt said, will be to earn the trust and confidence of EPA's 18,000 employees. "I continue to be very optimistic that I can make a contribution," he told reporters from Salt Lake City, where he learned about the midmorning vote while working out on exercise equipment at a downtown club. "I accepted this responsibility because I believe the president is committed to substantially more progress on the environment, and doing it in such a way that does not compromise our place in the world competitively." The nominee was helped by his three terms as governor, during which he gained a reputation as an affable and competent manager and molded alliances among Senate Democrats who are Westerners or former governors. Just after the vote, Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., who had once tried to delay the confirmation vote, shared a laugh with and, in a congratulatory gesture, twice patted the shoulder of Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Despite weeks of Democratic efforts to block or delay the vote, including a boycott of one of Inhofe's committee meetings, only eight voted against Leavitt. One, Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, led the charge against the nominee on the Senate floor. "Despite his commentary about balance and stewardship, Gov. Leavitt's record ... reveals a disturbing tendency to place shortsighted economic gain of regulated industries above protecting the long-term health of the public," Lautenberg said. "The last three years have been the darkest hour of our nation's commitment to environmental protection since EPA was created," he said. "This White House has repeatedly foisted its penchant for secrecy and cover-up on the Environmental Protection Agency." Inhofe said opponents were "misrepresenting the Bush administration's progress" on the environment and distorting Leavitt's record. "We desperately need to have this man in this office," Inhofe said of Leavitt, who was nominated in August to fill the vacancy resulting from Christie Whitman's departure in late June. For their efforts to delay the nomination, Jeffords won the EPA's promise to provide estimated benefits, not just costs, of his legislative plan to cut power plant pollution, which is competing with a Bush proposal. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., won a White House promise to take additional action over two years to protect New York City residents potentially exposed to harmful World Trade Center rubble. The vote came after Republicans showed Monday afternoon they could force the issue to a quick conclusion. Clinton and three Democratic presidential contenders in the Senate -- Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina -- had led the delaying efforts. Others who voted against Leavitt, all Democrats, were Sens. Barbara Boxer, California; Jon Corzine, New Jersey; Mark Dayton, Minnesota; Richard Durbin, Illinois; Jack Reed, Rhode Island; Jay Rockefeller, West Virginia; and Charles Schumer, New York. Four Democrats didn't vote: Sens. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Edwards, Lieberman and Kerry. Leavitt will be replaced as Utah governor by Republican Lt. Gov. Olene Walker. ******** 5. Oct 28 - Nov 03, 2003, Downtown Express, Volume 16 € Issue 22, W.T.C. Health Survey is Poorly Run, Some Say, By Elizabeth O'Brien http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_27/wtchealthsurvey.html The city¹s World Trade Center Health Registry has not asked enough questions of enough people, Downtowners criticized at an environmental forum last week. At the event, sponsored by New York University School of Medicine and held in the landmark Woolworth Building, scientists presented 9/11-related research to an overflow crowd of more than 120 people. Some said that the forum failed to provide the practical health information they were seeking. The project director for the health registry spoke last and received the brunt of participants¹ frustration during the question-and-answer session that followed. ³The registry fails, and it fails miserably,² said Scott Shields, who was among the first rescue workers to respond to the disaster. Shields said that during a registry phone interview he was asked if he wore a mask when he worked on the pile. The counselor did not ask the critical follow-up questions of what kind of mask he was wearing or whether it fit properly, Shields said. Deborah Walker, the project director of World Trade Center Health Registry, which is being run by the city¹s Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene, said that the survey was never meant to be exhaustive. ³The purpose of the questions is to collect very basic, baseline information,² Walker said. While budget and other concerns limited the city¹s initial telephone interviews to 30 minutes, Walker said, participants can give consent to be contacted in the future about other W.T.C.-related studies. This would provide an opportunity for detailed follow-up questions, she added. The city launched its health registry last month, after beginning to plan the project in October, 2001, Walker said. It aims to track the physical and mental health of thousands of people who were near the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, or who worked on the W.T.C. cleanup at the site or at Fresh Kills but were not close to either place the day of the attack. City officials said last month that they hoped the survey would grow into the largest of its kind in the U.S. But some at last Tuesday¹s forum criticized the health registry¹s ad campaign for not reaching enough people. Its slogan, ³I was there September 11th,² is misleading, they said, because certain groups can participate even if they weren¹t in the immediate vicinity of the disaster. These include people whose primary residence was south of Canal St. on Sept. 11, 2001, even if they weren¹t home that day, and those who worked on the pile or at Fresh Kills after the day of the attack. ³You¹ve got to do something about the advertising campaign,² said Jo Polett, a Tribeca resident. Walker responded that the slogan had received positive feedback in focus groups of residents. It works because people tend to associate Sept. 11 more with an event than with a specific date, she added. Walker told Downtown Express after the forum that a new ad campaign would be released in early spring; the Health Department had always planned to take the emphasis off the date in its second campaign, she said. The agency plans to monitor participants¹ health every three to five years up to 20 years, depending on funding, Walker said. Organizers hope the initiative will give them a broad understanding of the different ways the Twin Towers¹ collapse affected those closest to the disaster. One frustration that emerged at last Tuesday¹s panel was the lack of conclusive evidence on the health impact of the disaster. Researchers presented initial findings on topics including the effects of W.T.C. dust on mice and incidence of new asthma in those living near the Twin Towers and a control group. Some studies presented, like the one on the development of W.T.C. babies, were still underway and had no conclusions to offer. Some of the findings presented were already familiar to many following the environmental fallout of Sept. 11. For example, Lung Chi Chen of New York University School of Medicine said that based on his studies with mice, it seemed likely that humans exposed to high doses of W.T.C. dust would have greater risk of developing twitchy airways. This conditions results in coughing and itchy throats, Chen said, and poses the greatest risk for workers who labored at the site. Many participants said they struggled to find useful information amid the high-tech. presentations. ³I don¹t have a strong sense coming out of this evening what we should be concerned about long-term,² said Mark Scherzer, of 125 Cedar St., across the street from the W.T.C. Scientists said that the unprecedented nature of the towers¹ collapse made it hard to draw early conclusions about its health consequences. Scientists said they will continue their research and that residents and workers must be vigilant about their health. ³We need to be aware of what our bodies are telling us, so we don¹t miss the signals,² said Alison Geyh of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The city is still looking for residents and workers to sign up for its health survey. As of last Tuesday, 6,313 people had enrolled in the registry, with 65 percent of that number from New York City. Even those who feel completely healthy are encouraged to register. For more information and to register, visit the Web site at www.wtcregistry.org or call 1-866-NYC-WTCR (1-866-692-9827). 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