November 26, 2001: Doctor Details Health Problems of People near Ground Zero

Dr. Stephen Levin of the Mount Sinai-I.J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine testifies before the New York State Assembly’s Standing Committees on Environmental Conservation, Health, and Labor that conditions “seen in adults who have been at or near” the WTC site “for as little as twenty-four to thirty-six hours” included “reactive airways disease, new onset or exacerbation of pre-existing asthma, RADS [reactive airway dysfunction syndrome], sinusitis, irritant rhinitis, persistent cough, and diffuse irritation of nasal mucosal surfaces.” Among first-responders “or individuals who were hit by the cloud of dust and debris” following the collapse, he has observed “a dramatic increase in GERD [gastro-esophageal reflux] symptoms,” which for some people can be life-threatening. [Kupferman, 2003 ]