Source: http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_151063023.html

May 31, 2007 10:31 am US/Eastern

New Study Links Cancer To Ground Zero Toxins
Mt. Sinai: 'Third Wave' Of 9/11 Illnesses Appear

See Also -- Slideshow: The World Trade Center Remembered

WCBSTV.com's 9/11 Special Report

Magee Hickey
Reporting

(CBS) NEW YORK There are new cancer concerns at Ground Zero. Doctors fear a third wave of illness is starting to show up among first responders who worked in the rubble of the Twin Towers.

For many years, scientists reported that it was too soon to link cancers to the toxins that workers were exposed to at Ground Zero after 9/11. But new research could start linking exposure to blood cancers.

More than 20,000 responders to the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks have been examined by doctors at Mount Sinai's World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program, and those doctors are now worried about some of those responders could soon be facing a devastating "third wave" of illnesses.

The concern is that those who worked at Ground Zero will be diagnosed with blood and lymphatic cancers because of their exposure to the air at "The Pit."

The first wave of illnesses was considered to be that stubborn, dry "World Trade Center cough," which was first noticed in the months following the attacks. The cough was likely caused by workers inhaling pulverized cement in the air while working downtown.

The second wave largely involves chronic respiratory diseases that cause lung inflammation and scarring.

The third wave is now expected to include cancers among responders who were exposed to asbestos, dioxins and other carcinogens at Ground Zero.

This new information was released in Thursday's edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, where Dr. Robin Herbert, the co-director of Mount Sinai's World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program, described the latest findings in an online audio interview.

"We know we have a handful of cases of multiple myeloma in very young individuals. And multiple myelomas usually present later in life. And that's the odd, unusual and troubling finding we're seeing already," Herbert said.

Ironically, the latest findings could be welcome news for some Ground Zero workers. These newly released findings could help the case for a lawyer representing more than 100 workers, who claim they got cancer by working at Ground Zero.