A New York Health Department study finds there is no clear link between cancer and the dust and debris of the collapsed World Trade Center buildings in the 9/11 attacks. This comes just six months after the federal government added cancer to the illnesses covered by the $4.3 billion World Trade Center Fund, reports The New York Times:
There was no increase in the cancer rate of those studied compared with the rate of the general population, researchers concluded after looking at 23 cancers from 2003 to 2008. The prevalence of three cancers were significantly higher — multiple myeloma, prostate and thyroid — but only in rescue and recovery workers, and not in the rest of the exposed population. And the researchers noted that those were very common cancers and that the number of people who received diagnoses of them was small. In one of many counterintuitive findings, the incidence of cancer was not higher among those who were more intensely exposed to the toxic substances than among those who were less exposed.
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center biostatistics professor Donald Berry tells the AP “the study has too many limitations to draw any definitive conclusions”:
“There’s no evidence that 9/11 caused any of these cancers.
Certain Twitter users were less than pleased with the findings:
Yeah, right RT @breakingnews: New York City health department study finds no clear link between cancer and 9/11 debris nyti.ms/ZKTgHE
— William Patrick Wend (@wpwend42) December 18, 2012
Lies @breakingnews: New York City health department study finds no clear link between cancer and 9/11 debris – @nytimes nyti.ms/ZKTgHE
— Chaddyr23 (@Chaddyr23) December 18, 2012
Really? I know a few widows who would disagree with these findings. #FDNY #WTC #NYPD #PAPD #NYC nytimes.com/2012/12/19/nyr…
— Bob Tipton (@Bobtizzle) December 18, 2012
Read the full study HERE.