Last year, 15 police officers who were at or near Ground Zero around the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 died of 9/11-related cancer. Tragically, the number of police officers killed by 9/11-related cancer has gone up in recent years.

During and after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, many dangerous and cancer-causing toxins were released into the air. People at or around Ground Zero on the day of and the days following the attacks often had no choice but to breathe in these toxins as they attempted to recover from the attacks.

Initially, it was thought that the air at Ground Zero was safe to breathe. But as the years went on, experts determined that in fact, many dangers toxins were released into the air during the terrorist attacks. Now, more and more people are developing 9/11-related cancer.

Originally, only lung cancer was thought to be related to 9/11 toxin exposure. Now it is known that many kinds of cancers have been caused by 9/11 toxins.

Sadly, many of the people who have developed 9/11-related cancer are police officers, because they were among the first responders after the terrorist attacks, helping to rescue individuals and help the city recover from the attacks.  

Nationwide, a total of 144 police officers died in 2018 due to job-related causes last year, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial’s annual facilities report. This was up from 129 in 2017. A great deal of these deaths were due to firearms in the line of duty. However, this report details the growing number of police officers who have died from first responder-related deaths, including those deaths due to World Trade Center toxins. 

According to CBS News, 15 of the police officer fatalities in 2018 were due to 9/11-related cancer. This number is a four-fold increase from that of the previous year. In essence, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial’s annual facilities report, more and more police officers are dying from cancer related to those toxins. 

Among all victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks, almost 10,000 people have suffered from cancers caused by exposure to toxins released during the terrorist attacks, and over 580 people have been killed by 9/11-related cancer as of Sept. 30, 2018.

Many survivors, and the families of those who did not survive have been able to receive compensation from funds like the Victims’ Compensation Fund. Originally, the fund was once fairly limited in who was eligible to receive compensation.

However, now that it is known that many types of cancer are related to 9/11 toxins and the number of people who have been affected by 9/11-related conditions continues to rise, even nearly 20 years after the attacks, the restrictions on the fund have been loosened.

Many people were once turned away from receiving benefits from the fund because they were “not injured enough.” However, as we now understand more about the scope of the damage caused by 9/11 toxins, more people can benefit from the fund.

Because new evidence suggests that the damage caused by 9/11 is still going on, the time limit on the Victims Compensation Fund has been extended to 2020, so more people still have time to file claims for benefits.

In many ways, the negative effects of these toxins are most evident in groups who were closest to the attacks, like the first responders. Because police officers are among the first responders, taking a look at police officer deaths caused by 9/11-related cancer gives us a harrowing look at how much damage was done by the terrorist attacks of 9/11.