Posted by CNN (165.247.13.27) on October 30, 2001 at 08:25:58:
Gupta: Health concerns at Ground Zero
October 29, 2001 Posted: 1:00 PM EST (1800 GMT)
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) ö When the
World Trade Center towers collapsed,
tons of dust containing an assortment of
dangerous substances released into the
air. Some say it has created new medical
concerns for those working and living in
the area.
CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay
Gupta is in Atlanta and spoke with Miles
O'Brien about what some are calling the
World Trade Center Syndrome.
GUPTA: We just can't seem to forget the
large plumes of smoke that we've seen since
September 11th after the collapse. (The
site) is still showing some smoke, and the
health effects of that smoke -- of the small
particles, all those sorts of things that are
released in the air -- that's what we're
talking about.
A syndrome, Miles, typically is something that has a definite cause and a definite
effect. We don't know if we necessarily have that here. We don't know what the
full effects of all this smoke are going to be, but "Newsweek" reported that up to
40 percent of the 11,000 firefighters continue to have significant coughs requiring
medical attention, requiring inhalants with steroids in them.
Some people have gone on and developed frank respiratory problems requiring
ventilators. So, all that smoke, all the small particles that are floating through the
air are of some health concern. How long term that concern is going to be is
something we're going to wait and see.
Incidentally, Miles, the EPA has been monitoring
the air for small particles and for things that people
have been frightened and concerned about such as
asbestos and have continued to report since
September 11th that the levels are very, very low.
So, that's a piece of good news, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Sanjay, assuming these firefighters do
have ongoing problems with this smoke inhalation,
is it something that is above and beyond what they
might encounter in any other fire? Is there
something unique to the World Trade Center
location, which could cause some greater concern?
GUPTA: I talked to a few different lung doctors
about that very issue. And certainly the magnitude
of this and the amount of smoke and small particles
-- that is, particles that are less than 10 microns in
size -- the magnitude of that was much greater
obviously with the World Trade Center. So the
numbers of people that are complaining of
respiratory problems even up until now is
significantly higher.
Regarding the other sorts of particles ö again, asbestos is the thing that springs to
mind. One of the lung doctors I talked to put it like this:
There may have been some asbestos in the building that may be out in the air. How
dangerous is that? Well it's like if someone were not a smoker and were out to go
out and smoke a few packs of cigarettes. Certainly that would increase their risk of
lung cancer, but if they stopped smoking and they didn't continue to smoke long
term, their risk would probably still be small.
And that's kind of how it was explained to me.
O'BRIEN: Sanjay, it might be worth reminding our viewers -- because when they
hear about asbestos, they probably think back to some stories we told 10 years ago
or so about the asbestos threat. And at the time, there was some concern that one
little piece of asbestos could cause some great difficulties, perhaps even lung
cancer. That's been pretty much debunked, hasn't it?
GUPTA: That's right, Miles. It has been debunked and I think the best way to think
about it is the folks that have had chronic asbestos exposure -- that is, asbestos
exposure over a long period of time -- are those that are most at risk. Sometimes, it
can cause just sort of mild lung disease. It can certainly cause lung cancer ... Again,
we're talking about long-term asbestos exposures, not high concentration short-term
asbestos exposures as we may have seen in New York now.
O'BRIEN: As we've been looking at these pictures from Ground Zero ever since
September 11th, you see many of the rescue workers who are closest in are wearing
respirators. Is that enough to keep them out of trouble?
GUPTA: We're talking about the respirators here that are very different than
masks, Miles. It's an important distinction. These respirators actually continuously
filter all the air including all the small particles out and just allow the non-particle
air in, and those are good. The EPA Web site, in fact, continues to recommend
those for responders to the scene.
They have tested all the way through New York, lower Manhattan, midtown, all
the way further north and as you get further north, certainly, the risk goes way
down. But those people in lower Manhattan, around that site, are still recommended
if they're on the scene to wear these respirators.
O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this: When you go down to lower Manhattan, you see an
awful lot of people wearing those paper masks, and I have to wonder when I see
them if they really are doing much good.
GUPTA: It's a good point, Miles. The thing that lung specialists are worrying about
are the small particles and these are the particles that can actually get down through
your nose into your lungs. What they literally do is, they clog up the bottom of
your lungs. The bottom of your lungs is the place where air exchanges with your
blood and if you clog that area up, you can't get enough air into your blood.
Those are the small particles we're worried about. They are smaller than those
masks will be able to prohibit from getting in, and that's why the respirators are
being recommended over masks in that situation.