It is well known that asbestos exposure has been linked with asbestos lung cancer and other issues.

But what many don’t know is that asbestos exposure may be a problem for the 9/11 volunteers that began cleanup in the aftermath of the tragedy nearly 15 years ago.

The beloved volunteers who worked in Ground Zero, however, may now suffer from side effects of asbestos exposure, including issues as serious as asbestos lung cancer.

According to a recent report from CNN, more than 1,100 of the people who lived and worked around Ground Zero in the two months following the tragedy now have cancer. During this period, debris from the site wafted in the air constantly. Cleanup from major destruction can be as dangerous for volunteers as the event itself.

Dr. Arthur Frank from Drexel University, who has studied asbestos exposure for nearly 50 years, is often called to act as an asbestos expert during asbestos lawsuits. “Even one day of exposure to airborne asbestos increases a person’s risk of mesothelioma,” Frank said. “Disaster response volunteers can increase their risk of lung cancer if they don’t protect themselves from breathing in asbestos.”

Many of the emergency response volunteers may not have known about the asbestos risk, and it can take decades before symptoms of asbestos cancer begin to show.

Cleanup volunteers from other emergencies may also suffer from side effects of asbestos exposure. For instance, Hurricane Katrina first responders were surrounded by debris. They brought their own equipment and protective gear, but did not have protective masks as part of their protection against asbestos exposure.

Because of the gravity of these destructive events and the immediacy of their consequences, the possibility of asbestos cancer a dozen years in the future is usually not the primary worry of most volunteers.

For some volunteer organizations, asbestos is a significant and recognized danger. The American Red Cross of Southeast Tennessee has told volunteers to avoid tornado and storm debris. “Our volunteers are not first responders. We don’t put them in danger,” says David Kitchen, the disaster program manager of that organization. “We don’t want our volunteers close enough to the debris to inhale asbestos or other toxins because we don’t have breathing apparatus for them.”

Even for organizations that do have breathing masks, this may not be enough. Dr. Frank says that asbestos particles are so miniscule that they are able to sneak through cloth face masks. And even when it appears that the destruction has past, asbestos particles can still be present in the air for days.

Asbestos Exposure Lawsuits

The greatest asbestos exposure risk is lung cancer, which is the foremost cause of cancer death in the U.S. The survival rate of lung cancer survival rate is fairly low, and is usually under two years.

Filing an asbestos lawsuit cannot heal a family member, but it can help to alleviate some financial stress from medical expenses.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an asbestos disease such as lung cancer, you may be able to file an asbestos exposure lawsuit.