Nearly 10,000 New Yorkers got cancer from dust and toxic smoke from the 9/11 terrorist attacks
(Baonghean.vn) - The New York Post cited statistics from the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program at Mount Sinai Hospital (New York) saying that nearly 10,000 people were diagnosed with cancer, possibly related to inhaling toxic dust and smoke after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York City.
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| Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, more than 1,700 people affected have died, including 420 people with cancer. Photo: AP |
As part of a series of activities commemorating the 17th anniversary of the horrific terrorist attack on the World Trade Center twin towers in New York (September 11, 2001 - September 11, 2018), the World Trade Center Health program conducted a survey and concluded that at least 9,795 interviewees and a number of other New Yorkers were infected with cancer.
The number has continued to grow exponentially since the program at Mount Sinai Hospital was launched in 2013. In 2015, the number of cancer patients related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks was 3,204, while last year the number jumped to 8,188.
"We see cases 15 to 20 times a week," said Dr. Michael Crane, medical director of the WTC Health Program, noting that 17 years after the tragedy, the number of elderly people needing medical help has increased.
Since the attacks, more than 1,700 people have died, including 420 who have developed cancer, US officials say. Those first affected tend to suffer from thyroid and skin cancers, and are at higher risk of bladder cancer.
The rest of New Yorkers are breathing in higher levels of toxic dust, and are more likely to develop breast cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Leukemia and other blood cell disorders are also on the rise.