Asbestos: The Silent Killer of 9/11

For most people, in particular New Yorkers, September 11th 2001 will be remembered as the day that the world stood still and watched in horror as the Twin Towers at the World Trade Centre crashed down after a terrorist attack of unprecedented scale. As many watched the television helplessly, thousands of rescue workers poured into the city to help in any way they could.

When the towers actually collapsed, thousands of tonnes of dust from the very materials that were used in the construction of the buildings were released into the air, as the solid structures were pulverised in the sheer force during the collapse. Many people close to the scene were unprepared for such events taking place and as such, couldn’t help but breathe in the smoke.

Thousands of people were killed in the initial incident, either by the sheer force of the collapse, by the flames caused by the burning jet fuel or by falling debris. However, there was a far less obvious killer that would affect hundreds of people, long after the events took place. That killer was asbestos.

Construction of the Twin Towers began in the late 1960s when the use of asbestos was rife. Asbestos was popular because it was capable of insulation (thermal and sound) whilst providing fire resistance. However, in the late 1980s, asbestos was banned in many countries because it of the health hazards associated with it. If breathed in, asbestos can cause severe respiratory problems and when the towers collapsed, tonnes of asbestos were released into the air.

Within weeks, hundreds of people who were in the area at the time developed respiratory diseases. As many as 4,000 rescue workers are said to have developed some form of asbestos related illness after the collapse of the towers. The first known fatality was that of Deborah Reeve, who developed mesothelioma and passed away in 2006. As a result of Deborah’s case and hundreds more similar cases, doctors in New York urge anyone who may have been exposed to asbestos on the day of the collapse to undergo regular respiratory examinations.

If you’ve been affected by asbestos, you could mesothelioma claim