The health effects of the September 11 attacks will likely lead to World Trade Center cancer diagnoses well into the future.

According a recent online Time magazine article, many suffering consequences of that horrifying day may not be able to rely upon the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund, either directly or indirectly as a surviving family member. The monies are only slated to be forthcoming until Dec. 18, 2020—a little over a year and a half from now.

This is really distressing news for those administering the compensation fund, like Special Master Rupa Bhattacharyya. As indicated by the Time article, Bhattacharyya made public last month that she will be forced to cut payouts by as much as half or greater.

Some victims of World Trade Center cancer may not discover their affliction until months or years from now. These survivors run the greatest risk of being left without a safety net as funds diminish.

To date, the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund has paid 21,000 claims made by workers, volunteers, and citizens who were present in the lower Manhattan area on the day of the terrorist attacks. Approximately $5 billion has been distributed with an average payout being assessed at $240,470.

A Name to the Face of a Lifesaving Fund

According to a National Public Radio online article appearing on Sept. 11, 2017, demolition supervisor John Feal was among the first responders. He, along with others, searched for the remains of victims, and hoped hour by hour to find survivors while they sorted and removed the remnants of the twin towers.

Arriving on Sept. 12, Feal reports that he nearly succumbed to an injury sustained while working tirelessly. An 8,000 ton piece of steel fell onto his foot, crushed it and eventually led to the appendage’s amputation.

Prior to having the foot removed, he sustained a serious infection in one of the foot’s bones which quickly turned systemic and nearly killed him. The event did kill his career, but gave him a new calling—advocating and fighting for compensation to pay medical bills for first responders and other emergency personnel.

Feal started the Fealgood Foundation with that purpose. He simultaneously worked as part of a team to put the heat on Congress to pass a bill that would cover the expenses for medical care and monitoring for 9/11 first responders.

The result of this activity led to the re-institution of the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund through the James Zagroda Health and Compensation Act of 2010.

Feal himself was denied funds to pay for his injuries and he was not alone. Claims by several volunteers and first responders have reportedly been rejected, leading to additional suffering, bankruptcy, and divorce because of the financial stress.

The Tip of the Iceberg

Pollutants released into the area around Ground Zero were so toxic that we are likely to only be seeing the first glimpse of illnesses yet to come 18 years later. The dust emanating from the World Trade Center collapse contained powdered concrete, microscopic glass shards, lead, mercury, dioxins, and asbestos.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen which when inhaled can cause damage leading to mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs, pericardium, abdomen, and testes. Mesothelioma is a World Trade Center cancer with an average latency period of 30 years. Concerns over maintaining the fund to cover future diagnoses, which must be certified by the program, are of primary importance now.