Seventeen years after the terrorist attacks, people who lived or worked in lower Manhattan continue to be diagnosed with World Trade Center cancer.

Christine Todd Whitman, then-head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), apologized in 2016 for claiming on Sept. 13, 2001, that the air in and around Ground Zero was safe to breathe. She has denied lying but said she was wrong to declare the dusty, ash-laden air safe. Many have claimed they now have World Trade Center cancer. 

Tens of thousands of people returned to live and to work in the areas in and around the crumbled, burning Twin Towers just days after two hijacked jets crashed into them. Toxic jet fuel, burning carcinogenic building materials, asbestos and other poisons filled the air for a long time afterward.

For weeks after the attacks, the air was filled with particles of asbestos, aluminum, glass, burned jet fuel, and other carcinogens.

People who were exposed back then tried to return to their normal lives as soon as they could–they still had bills to pay, mouths to feed, and rent or mortgages to pay.

Today, those people believe their exposure to toxins in the days, weeks and months following the attacks is why they suffer from World Trade Center cancer.

There is a cluster of 15 men (and possibly more who are still unknown) who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Usually, men make up less than 1 percent of all breast cancer cases.

One man with breast cancer said it does not run in his family, and he went back to work just one block away from Ground Zero only a week after the attacks. He said even though they were told the air was not a danger, he said the smell was horrible and buildings continued to burn for months.

A young woman who was a senior at Stuyvesant High School, located just three blocks from Ground Zero, said school resumed less than a month after 9/11. She now suffers from gastro-esophageal reflux disease. When she met up with a group of classmates several years ago, she found out all of them had been diagnosed with it.

Some types of cancer take years to develop. Mesothelioma, most often caused by asbestos exposure, is a type of cancer that develops in the lining of an organ and can fester for 20 to 50 years after exposure before it is diagnosed. Asbestos particles released from the crushed drywall, insulation, and flooring of the collapsed buildings hung in the air for weeks.

Help for Those with World Trade Center Cancer

The U.S. government funds two programs that assist victims and families of victims who have developed World Trade Center cancer and other severe, adverse health effects. The World Trade Center Health Program provides coverage for medical treatment. The Victim Compensation Fund offers financial assistance to victims’ families, first responders and people who lived through the horrors of that time.

The September 11^th memorial is going to begin paying tribute to those who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks, but years later. People who have succumbed to World Trade Center cancer and similar sicknesses will be recognized by a path of stones that lead through the memorial.