Eighteen years after the September 11 attacks, first responders are still suffering the health effects of the tragedy.
ABC reported that the 9/11 aftermath has killed ten times as many police officers in the years after the attack, than the attack itself. The initial attack took the lives of 23 members of the NYPD.
Since then, NYPD has lost 241 members to 9/11-related illnesses.
NYPD are not the only first responders to lose members. FDNY has lost 202 members as a result of 9/11 related illnesses on the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. According to ABC, they have lost 22 members since last year.
The responders who died in the past year will reportedly be added to the FDNY World Trade Center Memorial Wall.
ABC reports that names are as follows:
Firefighter Anthony Alese Engine, Company 9
Doctor Michael G. Guttenberg, Bureau of Health Services
Captain Victor C. Valva, Engine Company 167
Firefighter Brent G. Crobak, Engine Company 251
Firefighter Charles Williams, Ladder Company 111
Battalion Chief Robert P. Miuccio, battalion 22
Firefighter Michael T. McDonald, Ladder Company 128
Firefighter Jimmy Martinez, Engine Company 157
Firefighter Dennis G. Heaney, Ladder Company 157
Firefighter John R. Elges, Ladder Company 134
EMT Felipe A. Torre, Bureau of Training
Paramedic Martha Stewart, EMS Station 8
EMT Joseph A. Rodriguez, EMS Station 58
Firefighter Daniel C. Bove, Engine Company 251
Captain John S. Moschella, Engine Company 26
Firefighter Richard H. Meehan, Battalion 06
Lieutenant Timothy P. O’Neill, Ladder Company 5
Firefighter Kevin E. Lennon, Ladder Company 175
Lieutenant John T. Moran, Ladder Company 41
Firefighter Lloyd W. Stuart, Engine Company 3
Firefighter Kevin J. Nolan, Engine Company 79
Firefighter Richard N. Driscoll, Engine Company 91
The most common killer of 9/11 first responders has been cancers; however, research has now linked high exposure to 9/11 dust with long term risks cardiovascular disease.
A new study published Friday in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University shows that firefighters who were first on the scene are 44 percent more likely to develop cardiovascular issues than those firefighters who arrived the next day.
In the study, it also said that firefighters who worked on the scene for six months or more were 30 percent more likely to suffer from cardiovascular issues such as heart attack and strokes.
Although more lives are likely to be lost as the years go on, first responders with conditions relating 9/11 illnesses, are covered on the federal law after earlier this year, new legislation was passed that provides first responders with compensation.
