9/11 Responders Still Face Effects of Attack as Long-Term City Air Pollution Worsens Ground Zero Damage

A new study finds that 9/11 responders continue to face lasting health effects, with heat and long-term urban air pollution linked to worse health outcomes 25 years after the attacks (Credit: FEMA- Andrea Booher/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

Twenty-five years after 9/11, the health effects of the World Trade Center response are still being uncovered, with new research suggesting that everyday exposure to heat and air pollution may add to the long-term burden faced by responders.

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai analysed data from 18,734 World Trade Center Health Program responders living in New York City. The study examined later-life exposure to fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, temperature, and neighbourhood greenery, and how those exposures were associated with frailty, PTSD, and depression.