Health effects following exposure to dust from the World Trade Center disaster: An update

Exposure to dust, smoke, and fumes containing volatile chemicals and particulate matter (PM) from the World Trade Center (WTC) towers' collapse impacted thousands of citizens and first responders (FR; firefighters, medicals staff, police officers) of New York City. Surviving FR and recovery workers are increasingly prone to age-related diseases that their prior WTC dust exposures might expedite or make worse. This review provides an overview of published WTC studies concerning FR/recovery workers' exposure and causal mechanisms of age related disease susceptibility, specifically those involving the cardiopulmonary and neurological systems. This review also highlights the recent findings of the major health effects of cardiovascular, pulmonary, and neurological health sequelae from WTC dust exposure. To better treat those that risked their lives during and after the disaster of September 11, 2001, the deleterious mechanisms that WTC dust exposure exerted and continue to exert on the heart, lungs, and brain of FR must be better understood.

Automated summary

Exposure to dust, smoke, and fumes from the collapse of the World Trade Center towers has had a significant impact on the health of first responders and recovery workers in New York City. This review examines the exposure and causal mechanisms of age-related disease susceptibility in these individuals, specifically in relation to the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and neurological systems. Understanding the deleterious mechanisms of WTC dust exposure on the heart, lungs, and brain is crucial for better treatment of these individuals who risked their lives during and after the September 11, 2001 disaster.