Two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents—one a top Atlanta-based agent and the other a former supervisory special agent–have recently been added to the list of Ground Zero cancer victims.

According to a CNN article, the first of these Ground Zero cancer victims to succumb was 53-year-old David LeValley, an agent based out of Atlanta who had been a first responder on September 11, 2001 in New York. While he passed away in May, it wasn’t until Friday, June 15 that his funeral was held.

David’s service was attended by several hundred formally-dressed FBI officials, bespeaking of his respect among the professional community every bit as much as the American flag covering the coffin at the front of the church. His burial to follow was to be a full military ceremony at Quantico National Cemetery.

Some might say that among ground zero cancer victims, David was as fortunate as they got—he lived long enough to see three children make it successfully to their adult years and had an enriching work life.

According to the CNN article, he had told several friends that he was convinced it was his time to go while he watched the twin towers collapse. Yet he was able to get himself and others to safety and then gathered evidence from the rubble for weeks to months afterwards.

The second of the Ground Zero cancer victims to be memorialized recently was former FBI supervisory special agent Brian Crews. Brian had also spent time gathering evidence as part of a team at a landfill that held 9/11 terrorist attack debris from the buckling of the World Trade Center. He passed away in early June of this year.

Both of these civil servants join a lengthy list of Ground Zero cancer victims whose disease didn’t develop until several years later. There are also statistics regarding deaths from complications related to exposure to 9/11 toxins which may or may not be cancer.

In addition to the 343 New York City firefighters who died in the line-of-duty when the towers came down, a breakdown of other deaths include:

• New York City Fire Department-176 deaths from 9/11 complications
• New York City Police Department-136 deaths from illness related to terrorist attack.

The number of Ground Zero cancer victims is only expected to grow more over the next few years. Close to 70,000 first responders showed up to help on that day and breathed in the dense pollution emanating from the airplane jet fuel—believed to be 91,000 liters–and asbestos fibers, microscopic glass and cement pieces.

The first Ground Zero cancer victims came down with blood cancers in the early years and now solid-tumor-based cancers with a latency period are being diagnosed, particularly among first responders.

In the three years between 2015 and now, the registered number of cancer cases has jumped from 3,204 to 9,300. While mesothelioma—the cancer directly related to asbestos exposure—is only one of these cancers that takes a long time to develop post-incident, it is a good example of the epidemic we might see in the future related to the terrorist attacks. Mesothelioma can take an average of 30 years to develop after being exposed to asbestos fibers.