Editorial: A moral obligation to help

Friday, Sept. 8, 2006 | 7:29 a.m.

Thousands of people who responded to ground zero in the hours, days and weeks after 9/11 are now suffering from serious respiratory problems that were almost certainly caused by the toxic dust that enveloped them during their rescue and cleanup operations.

Five years after the terror attacks it is clear that government officials failed to anticipate the extent of the health effects on the approximately 40,000 responders.

Reporting by The New York Times reveals that the responders were not properly outfitted for their work. Many of them wore no face masks at all, or masks that were inadequate for the job. The thick dust contained glass, asbestos and various cancer-causing chemical elements.

As poorly as the workers were protected during their operations, their post-ground zero attention was even worse. Although federally funded screening and monitoring programs were begun at New York City's Mount Sinai Medical Center in 2002, treatment did not begin in earnest until last year, when the Red Cross provided the medical center with $9.4 million. That money enabled 2,050 responders to receive medical aid.

To date, the federal government has not provided any money for treatment, although Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said Thursday that Sept. 11-related health programs will receive $75 million by the end of the month. That's a start, albeit a small start.

About 10,000 ground-zero workers were tested at Mount Sinai between 2002 and 2004, and about 70 percent of them suffered lung problems, according to a study the hospital released Wednesday. Other health effects may develop later. "Our patients are sick and they will need ongoing care for the rest of their lives," a doctor who helped lead the study told the Times.

Many of the patients became too sick to work and now have no health insurance. Many had no insurance, or not enough insurance, to begin with. The Bush administration, which hailed the responders as heroes when it was politically advantageous to do so, now owes it to them to budget whatever it takes to ensure that they receive the care they need.