Time might be running out for ill people who deserve to receive a portion of the 911 victims compensation fund.

Established by the federal government to assist victims of the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, the 911 victims compensation fund is running low on funds.

People who worked, lived or went to school near Ground Zero, defined as the Manhattan area below Canal Street, between Sept. 11, 2001, and May 31, 2002, may qualify for a portion of the 911 victims compensation fund.

An increasing number of first responders and people who lived and worked near Ground Zero are being diagnosed with cancers and other diseases related to the toxins that filled the air for months. Many of those carcinogens, such as asbestos, can fester for decades before full-blown cancer develops. With such a long time between exposure and diagnosis, many 911 victims don’t make the connection right away.

An increase of breast cancer diagnoses in both men and women is linked to exposure of toxins during the days, weeks and months immediately following the terrorist attacks.

John Mormando, 52, is an Ironman marathon participant who thought he had never been in better shape when he was diagnosed with breast cancer, according to an article by lohud. He was a trader at the New York Mercantile Exchange in Lower Manhattan and remembers going back to work the week after the attacks while the remains of the Twin Towers were still burning and debris continued to crumble.

Mormando told lohud he felt a little bump on the right side of his chest, but knew he had an upcoming dermatologist checkup the following week. He had the dermatologist check the lump. He was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, breast cancer that starts growing in a milk duct and invades the fibrous or fatty tissue outside of the duct. In order to make his right and left chest area match, the doctor removed a similar amount of tissue from the other side. He’s fortunate that decision was made because the cancer was found in that tissue, too.

Mormando said since 9/11, he also has been diagnosed with skin cancer twice. Skin cancer is the most commonly found cancer among people who lived and worked near Ground Zero.

Another 911 Victims Compensation Fund Extension Needed

Experts say more than 70 different cancers have been linked to toxins released into the air when the World Trade Center was attacked. Aluminum, asbestos, glass, and jet fuel smoke are just a few of the carcinogenic materials that people breathed for many months.

An estimated 400,000 people were exposed to toxic substances and carcinogenic fumes that have initiated a number of diseases linked to Ground Zero.

The original 911 victims compensation fund closed in 2004 but was re-opened in 2015 when then-President Barack Obama signed a bill to keep the fund available through Dec. 18, 2020.

Funds are running so low, those who oversee the payouts are considering decreasing the individual amounts to help as many people as possible. A new bill called Never the Heroes: Permanent Reauthorization of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund Act will be voted on when Congress returns in January.

Advocates say that keeping the 911 victims compensation fund open for several more years is necessary because the number of diagnoses shows no sign of waning.