It never gets any easier to look at images of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America. The New York City Police Department has released new aerial photos, taken by the NYPD Aviation Unit, which were posted on the ABC News website.
The thirteen images show the World Trade Center towers after American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into them. Huge clouds of dark smoke trail from the top portion of the towers while the sun shines down on NYC. One of the most powerful images displays an unbelievable cloud of dust and rubble as it spreads out over Lower Manhattan. Included in the cloud of debris that settled over Lower Manhattan were airborne asbestos fibers, which are conclusively linked to the development of a fatal form of cancer, known as mesothelioma.
The World Trade Center towers were constructed before the institution of asbestos-usage laws by the federal government, and the 10,000 construction workers who worked at the site were likely exposed to asbestos during construction. Asbestos materials such as insulation, drywall, drop-ceiling tiles, floor tiles, and plaster were used inside the World Trade Center, and when the towers were damaged on 9/11, asbestos fibers became friable and subsequently were released into the air. For weeks, first responders, volunteers, and residents were breathing in airborne asbestos, not to mention other contaminants.
If inhaled asbestos fibers – which have a unique claw-like architecture – can lodge in the mesothelium, or lining of the body’s internal organs. In the case of NYC residents, cleanup volunteers and first responders, asbestos was likely inhaled and the fibers settled inside the pleura, or lining of the lungs. Eventually, these asbestos fibers may form a malignancy known as pleural mesothelioma. In some cases, those who ingested asbestos fibers may develop a malignancy in the peritoneum, or lining of the abdomen, and in even fewer instances, the fibers may have lodged themselves inside the pericardium, or lining of the heart.
An estimated 400 tons of asbestos was present inside the towers when they fell. While exposure to asbestos may not have immediate health consequences, those exposed may very well begin to experience symptoms decades after they were exposed in 2001. Mesothelioma symptoms include difficulty breathing, a lingering cough, chest or abdominal pain, or the presence of fluid within the lungs. First responders – police, firefighters, and EMTs – are considered to be among those at the most risk of developing mesothelioma in the future. Members of the military who made their way to NYC in the days and weeks following 9/11 to assist with cleanup efforts are also at risk (as is any military veteran who may have been exposed to asbestos during their time in the service – Iraq and Afghanistan war vets too!).
As you look at the newest images of the 9/11 attacks, take the opportunity to remember the events of that day and the sacrifice that our military men and women have made since then in an effort to protect our nation.
