Help rescue the rescue workers
They were called "rescue workers," even though there was little hope of rescuing anyone from the collapsed World Trade towers after the first few hours. Maybe that's because so many of them were professional rescuers: firefighters, police, emergency medical technicians.
The Bush administration's Director of Environmental Protection, Christie Whitman, assured them, and local residents, that the air was safe to breathe, even though a cloud of dust and smoke rose from the fires there for weeks afterward.
As it turns out, the opposite was true: that dust was extremely dangerous, and now thousands of those rescue workers as well as nearby residents are sick -- even three years later.
Today, the first class action lawsuit was filed on their behalf. More are expected. But even if they won those cases tomorrow, that still wouldn't help much. Many of those rescue workers now suffer from lethal ailments such as mesothelioma (a cancer caused by asbestos exposure), and so far there is no cure. The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is working to find one. If you donate $20 or more, they'll send you a souvenir T-shirt designed by Artists for Hope.
posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @4:51 PM
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