The Big Apple firefighter’s union is steaming mad over the sudden discovery of 68 boxes of Ground Zero health data following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks — files they were told never existed.
The recently surfaced boxes contain thousands of pages of information on possible toxins at the Lower Manhattan site that union members said could be used to add new ailments to the list of covered 9/11-related illnesses.
Some 343 FDNY firefighters lost their lives at the World Trade Center site on 9/11 with hundreds more having lost their lives since from health-related maladies.
“They should have used that evidence and those tests to prepare for the long term health care of the people that were down there,” Andrew Ansbro, president of the FDNY United Firefighters Association said at a press conference Monday. “The decision they made was to just hide it.
“Here we are, 24 years later, we know many people got sick,” Ansbro added. “We’re still trying to get more diseases added to the World Trade Center register. We’re hoping that there’s going to be documents in there that help make our case on new diseases.”
The FDNY and advocates for other first-responders have been battling for years to get more data on possible toxins at the Lower Manhattan site, which has killed about 400 people since the attacks.
Ansbro said only 24 of the boxes have been made available by the city.
Advocates for 9/11 first-responders have battled the city in court for years for access to more information on health hazards tied to the terror attacks, with about 140,000 potentially affected officials and residents now part of the World Trade Center Health Program.
Asbestos and other potentially harmful chemicals were released into the city when the two towers collapsed, exposing New Yorkers to illness and even death in the years since — even as government officials initially claimed there was nothing to worry about.
However, advocates for the victims sought more information that was allegedly being kept under wraps.
It was only after city Councilwoman Gale Brewer, a long-running voice for 9/11 first responders, compelled the city Department of Investigation to do better that the new records surfaced, said fire union General Counsel Thomas McManus, who represents thousands of the victims.
“Today’s a bittersweet day,” McManus told reporters. “It’s bittersweet because we finally have the first semblance of transparency from the city. We finally will begin to know what they knew.
“But it’s bittersweet, because it took 24 years, because it took litigation, FOIL requests, and it took the Department of investigation, through the efforts of Gail Brewer, to compel the city to find these documents,” he said. “It’s ironic that after all that time, they didn’t find 68 pages. They found 68 boxes.”
Ansbro, whose first-responder father died nearly three years ago from exposure to Ground Zero chemicals, said all 9/11 families need to know the truth.
“My family needs to know that the people that lied to everyone else – again, my father was exposed from day one, but everyone else that was exposed, they need to know,” the UFA boss said. “Their families need to know who lied them.”
In a statement Monday, officials at City Hall declined to discuss the documents because the city is still tied up in litigation with first responders and their families.
“As one of the many first responders at Ground Zero on 9/11 and in the weeks that followed, Mayor [Eric] Adams has been unwavering in his commitment to ensuring victims, their families, first responders, and survivors receive the care and services they deserve,” the statement said.
“While we cannot comment on the specifics of pending litigation, the city has begun turning over documents to plaintiff’s counsel, and both parties are working out a schedule to continue this process,” it said. “We remain dedicated to getting 9/11 victims and their families the answers they need, and thank the brave men and women who risk their lives every day to keep our city safe.”
Adams is a former NYPD captain.
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