Young adults who attended lower Manhattan schools in 2001 are experiencing 9/11-related illnesses at higher rates than the general population. Despite this, many millennials do not realize they are eligible for September 11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) payouts.

Only 20 percent of those who were in the area at that time have taken advantage of free health care benefits for which they are eligible, according to New York’s Pix 11.

Symptoms Begin to Show

In September 2017, the New York University School of Medicine published a study in the journal Environmental International, according to EurekAlert. The researchers had analyzed the blood of over 300 people who had been children in the lower Manhattan area at the time of the collapse of the World Trade Center.

Forty percent of the subjects are believed to have come in direct contact with toxic dust containing chemicals linked to arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). This puts them at elevated risk for heart disease.

However, the long-term prognosis is even grimmer.

Epidemiologist Dr. Leonardo Trasande, who led the study, said these people face the lifelong possibility of effects from exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, one of the ingredients used in Teflon and waterproof fabrics), according to the assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy. This exposure, in turn, puts victims at risk for multiple illnesses, including decreased fertility, autoimmune disease, and cancer of the prostate, kidney, and testicles.

Dental Records May Be a Portent of Things to Come

A unique study undertaken by research scientists at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York in the first few months of 2017 looked at the baby teeth of children living near Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2001, according to Newsweek.

The purpose of the inquiry was to investigate how airborne toxins from the World Trade Center might affect the health of children in that region in the long term. The neurotoxins have the capacity to work on the entire brain, spinal cord, and other nerve tissue, and set off problems throughout the whole anatomical system, such as hormonal imbalances affecting metabolism and anxiety.

The initial data that came from the analysis of four batches of baby teeth from the children living in the Ground Zero region on 9/11 indicated the dentine had traces of tin and lead, both elements known to be neurotoxins, according to Newsweek. These elements were known to be part of the cloud left in the wake of the twin towers decimation.

While the data is not enough to form conclusions with a strong scientific basis, it does provide enough justification to expand the study, lead researcher Dr. Robert Luchinni told Newsweek. Another associate involved in the study said the teeth showed unusual patterns not even replicated by a similar analysis of baby teeth from industrial cities in Italy and Mexico City.

The baby teeth study is as vital to understanding the health status of children living near Ground Zero on 9/11 as the study of tree rings is to understanding the life cycle of a tree, according to the report. Like tree rings, bands are formed in the dentine that reveal the traumas and exposures as well as benefits at certain points in time.

Why Have So Few Applied for 9/11 VCF Payouts?

A number of studies involving police, firefighters, and EMTs who were on the scene that day have discovered rates of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma to be 50 percent greater than that of the population at large.

However, little research has been done on those who were children at the time.

One woman who was interviewed for a news story says she was a senior at Stuyvesant High School in September 2001.

Now 35, Lila Nordstrom told Pix 11 she has suffered from ongoing asthma and gastric problems over the years. She also noted some of her classmates have contracted different cancers, including breast, stomach, and thyroid cancer, as well as a “very rare” form of bone cancer.

Many young adults who saw the tragic terrorist attacks near their homes or even live on television may still struggle with the trauma of watching so many people die at once. According to applied social psychologist Dana Rose Garfin’s article on 9/11 mental health, people who were children during the attacks may suffer from “collective trauma” and even PTSD.

It appears many people who were children at the time of the 9/11 attacks do not realize they also have been eligible for 9/11 VCF payouts.

Congress Extends 9/11 VCF Payouts

Fortunately for these still-youthful victims, Congress finally took action to extend the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act through 2090, making certain those who suffered health problems as a result of toxic exposure on that day will continue to receive medical attention free of charge for the remainder of their lives.

Former comedian Jon Stewart, an active advocate for 9/11 victims, is urging everyone who suffers from a 9/11-related illness to sign up for benefits as soon as possible.