James Zadroga paved way for relief through Zadroga Act

On September 11, 2001, the United States of America witnessed the most devastating terrorist attack in the history of the world. However, this man-made calamity did not stop just with the shocking destruction of the World Trade Towers. Thousands of people mercilessly lost their lives and many others lost their hope, zest and reasons to live. But there was one more set of people who paid a huge price for helping out during this mishap. While the full extent of the health consequences related to WTC dust exposure is still unknown, a large number of such people, exposed to the 9/11 toxins, have developed serious and fatal health conditions and Mr. James Zadroga was one of them.

James Zadroga, an officer of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), died of a respiratory disease in 2006, that had been an unfortunate consequence of his participation in rescue and recovery operations of the World Trade Center attack. James Zadroga was the first New York City Police Department officer whose death was a result of his contact with toxic chemicals at the attack site.

Like James Zadroga, several firefighter, police officer, emergency service worker, volunteer, construction worker, clean up worker, federal or city employees, were detected with serious health conditions such as Upper or Lower Airway Disease, Acid Reflux Disease, Obstructive Airway Diseases such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); or Obstructive Lung Defects such as Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome (RADS), occupational asthma (WTC Cough), Sarcoidosis, Asbestosis and Mesothelioma Cancer.

While their act was heroic, the consequences were tragic. Thus, honoring the effort of these brave hearts, in January 2011, President Obama of the United States of America , signed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 (H.R. 847), called the Zadroga Act, into law.

This act, named respectfully after James Zadroga, was meant to expand death benefits to Ground Zero workers, who die from cancer or respiratory diseases, because of being exposed to toxics during the 9/11 recovery efforts. Also, under this act, all living people suffering from any 9/11 related health conditions, are eligible for health care. Benefits include both health monitoring as well as financial aid. Moreover, residents of the World Trade Center area, as well as students attending school and people employed in the area during the 9/11 terrorist attack, would also be provided under this program with proper health monitoring and medical care for any and all 9/11 related health conditions.

While the initiative is tremendous, one should keep in mind that the Zadroga Act requires the development of an information and outreach program, through which the public can be informed about the befits available under this program. Moreover, the success of this initiative also depends on some hygiene records, such as collection of physical and mental health data of the actual number of victims receiving medical care and the creation of a research program that can assess the health damages resulting from the WTC 9/11terrorist attacks.