The goal of this project is to document the current health status of workers who were involved at the World Trade Center disaster site. Participation involves filling out a questionnaire. Workers involved in the clean up and recovery effort any time between September 11, 2001 and May 30, 2002 and are a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the International Union of Operating Engineers, or the Laborers International Union of North America are eligible to participate. All information will be kept confidential. This project is sponsored by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Grant number: P30 ES 03819. Project Director: Alison S. Geyh, Ph.D. Contact information: 1-866-842-9623. To learn more about the health assessment findings of World Trade Center clean-up workers, please click here. If you are interested in participating or have any questions regarding this project, contact Dr. Alison Geyh.
BACKGROUND
Many workers who cleared debris from the site of the World Trade Center attack of September 11 reported acute respiratory symptoms, according to a health assessment conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Investigators believe the respiratory problems may be associated with exposure to dust and airborne contaminants at “Ground Zero.” Since the investigators only looked at short-term health effects, additional research is needed to determine if there is any long-term health risk to the workers. The initial exposure and health assessment was conducted between October 2001 and April 2002 and the findings were presented in August 2002 at a meeting for Teamsters members in Lake Success, N.Y.
Investigators examined the workers’ airborne exposures to asbestos, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds. In October, airborne contaminants were measured at numerous locations at Ground Zero and on truck drivers who hauled wreckage away from the site. The respiratory health of the truck drivers and other debris-removal workers was assessed two months later, when a respiratory health questionnaire was administered to the workers. In addition, lung function was measured using spirometry. Additional airborne-contaminant measurements were collected in April and compared to the data gathered in October. Airborne particulate matter measured at Ground Zero was highly variable in both composition and size and depended on conditions at the site, such as how aggressively the fires were burning, how actively the debris was being removed, and how thoroughly dust suppression measures were being carried out. In May, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences awarded the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health a grant to continue assessing the health of workers involved in the cleanup of the World Trade Center site. Over the next year, project director Dr. Alison Geyh and her colleagues will develop a registry of the estimated 6,000 to 7,000 workers involved in removing and transporting debris from Ground Zero. The registry will be used for future studies to assess the health of these workers. | 
