9/11: Decades after the attack, toxic dust still ails Americans

Over the years, multiple studies have been conducted that showed a connection between an illness and the attack.

In 2001, two airliners crashed into the Twin Towers at New York's World Trade Center. The ghastly attacks, referred to as 9/11, killed thousands of people and two decades later now, people are still coming forward to report illnesses that might be related to that, reports said.

More than 40,000 people have reportedly received payments from the fund for people with illnesses potentially linked to the attacks, as per the report. (PTI)

Over the years, multiple studies have been conducted that showed a connection between an illness and the attack. In 2012, a study was published in the journal of the American Medical Association, which found a possible association between exposure to the World Trade Center debris and excess cancer risk. In the study, the researcher found that the incidences of prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, and multiple myeloma were significantly elevated among the rescue and/or recovery workers.

In view of this, the United States introduced a programme, the World Trade Center Health Program, which gives free medical care to people with health problems potentially linked to the dust. According to a report by AP, more than 111,000 people are enrolled in the program and the government has spent $11.7 billion on care and compensation for those exposed to the dust.

More than 40,000 people have reportedly received payments from the fund for people with illnesses potentially linked to the attacks, as per the report.

The largest number of people enrolled in the federal health programme suffer from chronic inflammation of their sinus or nasal cavities or from reflux disease, a condition that can cause symptoms including heartburn, sore throat and a chronic cough.

The most common cancers that authorities have found were developed in the aftermath of the attack are skin and prostate cancer.

Nearly 19,000 enrollees in the World Trade Center Health Programme have a mental health problem believed to be linked to the attacks. In this, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), has been documented as the most prevalent one among the survivors.

Besides this, other common conditions due to the 9/11 attack, certified by the World Trade Center Health Program, are rhinosinusitis, asthma, sleep apnea, respiratory disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, and anxiety disorder. The World Trade Center Health Program regularly publishes the most commonly certified condition on its website.

(With agency inputs)