The Associated Press
NEW YORK — An autopsy linking the death of a police officer to dust at the World Trade Center site was chilling confirmation to many 9/11 rescuers that more than four years later, the disaster is still claiming lives.
“It should open up people’s eyes,” said former firefighter Kevin Riley, who had to retire with lung problems after rushing to the scene as the twin towers collapsed.
A class-action lawsuit claims there have been dozens of deaths related to the cloud of debris that hung over the ruins. Hundreds of police officers, firefighters and others who labored at ground zero have respiratory illnesses and other chronic disorders they blame on asbestos and other substances. And there are others who are healthy now but fear they will develop cancer or other illnesses down the line.
Last week, an autopsy report was released on 34-year-old police Detective James Zadroga, and it is being cited by his family and union as the first medical proof that people are still dying from the attacks.
Zadroga died in January of what was listed as pulmonary disease and respiratory failure. The autopsy found material “consistent with dust” in Zadroga’s lungs, and Gerard Breton, a pathologist at the Ocean County, N.J., medical examiner’s office concluded: “It is felt with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of death in this case was directly related to the 9/11 incident.”