If you lived, worked or were otherwise near the September 11 Ground Zero area and were diagnosed with cancer or other related diseases, you could be eligible for 9/11 VCF payouts.

The 9/11 VCF (Victims Compensation Fund) is designed to help people who were near Ground Zero any time between Sept. 11, 2001 and May 31, 2002 and who suffered health issues as a result.

Some of the diseases take years to manifest after exposure to toxins. Anyone who was around Lower Manhattan below Canal Street and was diagnosed with cancer four years or more after exposure (or one year or more for blood or bone cancers) could qualify for 9/11 VCF payouts.

The Victims Compensation Fund holds $7.3 billion that needs to be distributed to qualifying victims, some of whom also could be awarded free lifetime medical care.

You don’t have to be a first responder to qualify for the 9/11 VCF payouts, nor do you have to be a New Yorker. The government understands that thousands of people were in harms way not only on Sept. 11, 2001, but in the weeks and months that followed. Billowing clouds of toxic fumes, asbestos, glass, burning jet fuel and other carcinogens filled the air and became stirred up again as the city dug out of the debris for months.

9/11 VCF Payouts Reach Millions of Dollars

Over the years, individual compensation from 9/11 VCF payouts have ranged from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars because of 9/11-caused cancers and deaths.

The U.S. government established the 9/11 VCF to help everyone from New York’s own first responders to out-of-state responders who arrived to help in the aftermath. Here is a list of people who could be eligible to receive 9/11 VCF payouts if they have suffered from cancer due to exposure during that time period:

• First responders
• Firefighters
• Police officers
• EMTs
• City workers
• Construction workers
• Sanitation workers
• Utility workers
• Cleaners
• 9/11 volunteers
• Out-of-state responders
• Employees who worked at any business below Canal Street
• Residents who lived below Canal Street
• Students who attended a school below Canal Street
• Others who were in the area between Sept. 11, 2001 and May 31, 2002

Although you might have heard the original 9/11 VCF closed in 2004, Congress reactivated the fund in 2011, and it will remain open through Dec. 18, 2020.

The fund was reactivated when victims continued to be newly diagnosed with illnesses that were linked to 9/11. Mesothelioma is one type of cancer that can take 20 to 50 years after exposure to become diagnosed as cancer, which manifests in the lining of an organ. Asbestos fibers most often cause mesothelioma, and asbestos was released into the air from the crushed drywall, insulation, flooring, and electrical compartments for months after the buildings collapsed.

If you or someone you know was near Ground Zero between September 11, 2001 and May 31, 2002 and is suffering from one of 70 recognized cancers, you could be eligible for 9/11 VCF payouts.