WTC Health Fund to Pay for 9/11 Cancer Victims

Compensation and treatment for those who inhaled toxic dust

The World Trade Center Health Program will now provide treatment and compensation for 9/11 victims who were diagnosed with cancer after they inhaled toxic dust, program administrator Dr. John Howard announced this afternoon.

Initially, the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act -- the fund established in 2010 and named for police detective James Zadroga, who died at age 34 after working at Ground Zero -- included only a short list of illnesses that qualified for compensation. Cancer was excluded because of a lack of scientific evidence linking any form of the disease to conditions in the debris pile, even though many of the 50,000 9/11 first responders believe they got cancer -- among other illnesses -- because of their exposure to dust and other substances at Ground Zero.