by Avery Lotz, axios.com, 11 September 2024
The number of New York City Fire Department members who have died from 9/11-related illnesses in the decades since the attack now surpasses the number who died that day.
The big picture: The FDNY added the name of 32 individuals who died from health issues stemming from the rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center to its memorial wall, bringing the total number who have died from Ground-Zero-related illnesses to over 360. On the day the Towers were struck, 343 FDNY members died.
According to a department spokesperson, the names on the wall include firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, civilian employees — and the chaplain of the department.
Zoom in: "As we do every year, we will reflect on the 343 members who died that day, and we will be sobered in knowing that those insurmountable losses did not end at the World Trade Center site," Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said at the ceremony.He continued: "Instead, we have seen our members become sick because of time they spent working in the rescue and recovery."
377 members of the NYPD have died from fatal 9/11-related illnesses in the years since the attack, according to the department, more than 16 times the number who died in the line of duty as they responded to the attacks (23).The FBI's Wall of Honor recognizes 27 employees who died of health complications following the attacks at the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon. Two FBI employees died that day, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in 2022.
Zoom out: In the 23 years since the Towers fell, first responders and others have been diagnosed with cancer and other diseases from toxic dust exposure at and near Ground Zero."An estimated 400,000 people were exposed to toxic contaminants, risk of physical injury and physically and emotionally stressful conditions in the days, weeks and months following the attacks," according to the Centers for Disease Control.
By the numbers: The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, which Congress voted in 2019 to extend through 2092, provides federal compensation for those with illnesses related to the attack who were present at one of the three crash sites within a certain time frame.
In its 2023 report, the VCF said it had awarded $12.8 billion to over 56,600 claimants since former President Obama signed an act reactivating the fund in 2011.
But the fund has faced numerous challenges throughout its history, notably when it nearly ran out of money in 2019 before congressional action.
What to watch: The World Trade Center Health Program, a separate but closely related program to the VCF, was authorized to expire in 2090. But it is now also facing a projected funding shortfall.A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2024 in July, which would mandate permanent funding for the program and update its funding formula.
Go deeper: About 40% of New York 9/11 victims' remains have yet to be identified
https://www.axios.com/2024/09/11/911-fdny-deaths-illness-surpass-attack-toll
View our original post: "Documentary "Dust to Dust - the Health Effects of 9/11"
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