Rescue Workers Rally At Ground Zero
Source: northjersey.com
By MIKE KELLY
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
NEW YORK – They huddled in the winter shadows and the frigid air, this group of wounded veterans of Ground Zero, some of them leaning on canes or walkers, some breathing from oxygen tanks.
The father of James Zadroga is hugged by Bill Maher, of Maywood. Then, they read the list of names of the dead — all of them rescue workers and other volunteers who rushed, like them, into that smoldering place of terror on that sunny September morning eight years ago and breathed in too many toxins.
So far, that death list has 103 names but it will probably grow in the years to come.
There was Felix Hernandez. And Sandra Adrian. And Robert Grossman. And, finally, James Zadroga, the North Arlington kid who became a New York City police detective and then volunteered more than 400 hours at the Ground Zero clean up.
Four years ago yesterday, Zadroga took his last breath, his lungs blackened and clogged with Ground Zero’s dust and junk. He was only 34.
Here, yesterday, on a plaza only a few yards from Ground Zero, with the thump of jackhammers and the clang of cranes in the background, stood Zadroga’s father, Joseph, the former North Arlington police chief, fighting back tears as his son’s name was read
“It’s hard to believe four years have passed,” Joseph said, pulling his jacket close to his neck. “I still remember the day.”
Joe Zadroga is retired now and living in Little Egg Harbor where he and his wife, Linda, are raising their son’s 8-year-old daughter, Tyler Ann. Besides losing their son, James in 2006, the Zadroga’s lost James’s 29-year-old wife, Ronda, a year earlier to a heart ailment.
But the Zadroga’s tragic story is just one example of the long chain of suffering among Ground Zero workers.
Besides the 103 who have died so far, thousands more are in failing health. Which means that this is not just a story about health care, but a story about politics – and whether our federal government can find enough money to help.
Organizers of yesterday’s rally said they are hoping that the reading of the names of the dead will draw attention to the problem and pressure Congress into passing a new law, named after James Zadroga, to guarantee 30 years of health care and other compensation to sick Ground Zero workers.
But this is no easy task.
At yesterday’s rally, Ground Zero workers charged that Rep. Frank Pallone, the Monmouth democrat, was blocking the Zadroga bill in a health subcommittee he runs.
“He has the IQ of a soap dish,” said construction worker John Feal, who lost a portion of his foot at Ground Zero and has become a leading voice for injured workers.
In Washington, where he said he was tied up with legislation, Pallone cried foul.
“I’m 100 percent in support of this bill,” Pallone said in a telephone interview from his Capitol Hill office. “But the basic problem is that I don’t know if we have the votes.”
Feal and another injured Ground Zero veteran, Charles Giles, formerly of Garfield, say Pallone is bluffing.
“We’ve contacted every member of the committee and Pallone has the votes,” said Giles, who ran a private ambulance service and now takes more than 30 drugs to combat a variety of ailments, from asthma to congestive heart failure – all as a result of his more than 400 hours of service at Ground Zero.
“We’re sick and we’re dying,” Giles said. “We gave our hearts and our souls here. All we want is what we deserve.”
In Washington, Pallone insisted he is facing an uphill battle to help Giles and others like him. At issue, he said, is the proposal to make health benefits for Ground Zero workers an entitlement program, with a guaranteed $10 billion price tag.
But on the plaza near Ground Zero where the names of the dead were read, Pallone’s rationale – and political logic – seemed as frigid as the wind.
“It’s an outrage that we had to brave the cold weather to do this,” Feal said, his voice rising. “We’re not going to play dead.”
Standing nearby, Rep. Bill Pascrell, the Paterson democrat, listened quietly.
Sensing the potential political mess for fellow Democrats and his friend, Frank Pallone, Pascrell stepped forward and declared: “I will personally talk to Mister Pallone.”
“I don’t want to hear about the expenses,” Pascrell later said. “We will find the money to do this.”
“We do not want to be here for another anniversary of James Zadroga’s death,” added Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the New York City democrat who also attended the rally.
At the moment, Congress has been appropriating yearly installments for health care, most recently $70 million for the current fiscal year. Six hospitals – including the University of Medicine and Dentistry at Rutgers – offer free clinics for sick workers.
But there is no guarantee that sick workers will be covered as they get older.
Pallone said he wants a more permanent allocation of money and hospitalization. But he said some Congressional representatives – including Democrats – are balking, claiming that the problem is essentially confined to New York and New Jersey.
“I don’t want it to fail,” said Pallone of the Zadroga bill. “If it fails in my committee, it’s dead.”
The question of how to take care of sick Ground Zero workers has quietly lingered for several years on the fringes of political debates in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
How should these sick workers be identified? And with others in the nearby community also claiming to be sick, should the number of people eligible for benefits be expanded? If so, how much? And for how long?
As the rally ended, Joseph Zadroga turned to walk away. He stopped to speak to a friend, Joe Picurro, a former Ground Zero iron worker who grew up in Palisades Park who now needs a walker to lean on and an oxygen tank to help his lungs to breathe.
“My lungs are so swollen that they rub against my ribs,” Picurro said.
Joe Zadroga shook his head.
“These workers did this for their country,” he said. “Yet their country doesn’t help them.”
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Who is writing the bios?
I knew a woman on the West Coast named Sandra Adrian (same as the NYC detective who died of debris inhalation after 9/11). I googled her name and got this bio: http://www.odmp.org/officer/19954-detective-sandra-y.-adrian The 9/ll narative is straight off the Cheney-approved OCT and only missing the denial that the government had any responsibility for toxic air exposures.
compensation that has been recieved?
Hi all,
I have been discussing this subject on the dropzone.com forums and have been replied with these comments;
[quote]They are cared for. Emergency workers (EMT's, firefighters, police) are covered 100% for any work-related illness. This is an additional coverage for after they retire, for other unrelated diseases etc. As an example, the person the bill was named for (James Zagroda) was a detective who died due to drug abuse. He was covered for his lung condition as a result of working near ground zero but not for his addiction. This bill would increase his coverage. Other people who would be covered would include drivers who trucked out the debris and workers who dug out the subway tunnels. It would also implement a quality assurance program, establish some advisory committees, establish a steering committee, establish community program committees, do community outreach, fund data collection, and create a WTC Health Registry. [/quote]
[quote]Select Federal and Private Funding for Screening, Monitoring, Treatment and Research
Federal funding for World Trade Center (WTC)-related health services generally has been distributed to agencies within the US Department of Health and Human Services. The New York Congressional delegation, the Fire Department of New York, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, labor organizations, New York City and other groups have worked hard to increase this funding as 9/11 health problems have become more evident over time.
$4.8 Million (2001): Screening for FDNY Members
Within weeks of the terrorist attacks on America, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $4.8 million to the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) to screen its members for health problems as a result of their early and intense exposure to the hazardous conditions at Ground Zero.
$18.5 Million (2001): Mental Health Evaluation and Treatment for FDNY Members
The federal government, in recognition of the high casualties experienced by FDNY, and the impact of the WTC disaster on nearly every member of the department as well as their families, provided $18.5 million to evaluate and treat FDNY members. Nearly all these funds were distributed through Project Liberty which was created by the New York State Office of Mental Health with support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to provide crisis counseling in New York City and 10 surrounding counties for more than two years after the disaster.
$12 Million (2002): Screening for Rescue and Recovery Workers
In 2002, public concern about the health of non-FDNY workers who responded to the World Trade Center disaster and who subsequently participated in the rescue and recovery operations resulted in a federal emergency appropriation of $12 million to begin screening these workers for potential medical problems. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) contracted with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine to screen 12,000 workers.
$20 Million (2003): WTC Surveillance and Research
In 2003, the federal government also provided $20 million to establish the WTC Health Registry, a joint research program developed by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). More than 71,000 people who were exposed to a combination of smoke, dust and debris after the collapse of the twin towers eventually enrolled in the program so that researchers could study the effects of this exposure on their health for decades to come.
$90 Million (2004): Screening and Monitoring for Rescue and Recovery Workers
With an additional $90 million appropriation in 2004, NIOSH established the WTC Medical Monitoring Program. NIOSH awarded grant funding to Mount Sinai, FDNY and several other institutions to monitor the long-term health of rescue and recovery workers. By 2007, nearly 40,000 workers, including more than 14,000 FDNY members, had enrolled in the WTC Medical Monitoring Program.
$16 Million (2005): Treatment for Residents and Rescue & Recovery Workers
Initially, the federal government did not fund treatment for workers who were diagnosed with WTC-related health problems, many of whom were underinsured or who had no insurance at all. The September 11th Fund and the American Red Cross filled this need by drawing on the private contributions these organizations had received immediately after the terrorist attacks. In 2005, the American Red Cross awarded more than $16 million in funding to the NIOSH funded institutions and to the Bellevue WTC Environmental Health Center. The Bellevue program had begun treating WTC health problems among residents, office workers, and others. At a press conference announcing these grants, members of the New York Congressional delegation urged the federal government to supplement this private funding.
$75 Million (2006): Monitoring and Treatment for Rescue & Recovery Workers; Mental Health, WTC Surveillance
In 2006, Congress redirected $75 million in unspent federal funding that previously had been designated for 9/11-related purposes. The funds were appropriated to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and $66 million of this funding was designated for distribution through NIOSH to provide funding for treatment of rescue and recovery and workers and support existing medical monitoring programs. The WTC Medical Monitoring Program expanded to become the WTC Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program. In addition, NIOSH funded the Police Organization Provide Peer Assistance (POPPA) and COPE programs to provide mental health services and counseling for members of the New York Police Department who assisted in the rescue and recovery effort at Ground Zero.
Bellevue Hospital received federal funding for a small number of rescue and recovery workers that it treats through its affiliation with the WTC Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program. The Bellevue WTC Environmental Health Center, which has treated more than one thousand residents, office workers, students and other people exposed to the WTC disaster, has not been eligible for any federal funding to date.
CDC allocated $9 million of the redirected funds to continue the WTC Health Registry research program.
$158 Million (2007): Expanded 9/11 Health Treatment
Congress appropriated a total of $158 million in FY2008 funding for 9/11 health treatment, including $50 million that was provided in an Emergency Supplemental Appropriation Bill. In late 2007, an additional $108 million was appropriated. The language in this second appropriation specified that Lower Manhattan residents, area workers and students who had been exposed to the WTC collapse are eligible to receive federally funded treatment for the first time. In September 2008, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention awarded a $30 million grant from this appropriation to the WTC Environmental Health Center to treat this population.
$70 Million (2009): New Funding for 9/11 Health
In March 2009, President Obama signed into law an omnibus spending bill PDF Document (Reader Required; Click to Download) for fiscal year 2009. The bill includes $70 million in new funding for the current medical monitoring and treatment programs administered by NIOSH at FDNY and the Mount Sinai Consortium. The funds will also cover treatment for residents, area workers and others affected by 9/11. [/quote]
Do these payments exclude some of the workers?
add link to source
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/wtc/html/background/funding.shtml
I sent your information...
To several responders to have them respond... However, in the meantime, I refer you to here. Which includes a lot of your information. I will say that one of the things the Zadroga Bill will do is give the care that you mentioned a 30 year guarantee from the Government as opposed to having to fight for it year after year. Also, one of the problems is that individuals have to prove they worked down at the pile. You need to look at the entire history... going way back to when individuals were arguing against the idea that the WTC dust was toxic, or caused health problems for workers.
Edit: Here's an interesting report.
"The bill gives additional health care to people directly impacted by ground zero like recovery workers, cleanup workers, and occupants who live and work around the site. Also included in the bill is compensation for individuals affected directly by ground zero. Currently, ground zero workers have not received any compensation from the government."
You are right... some of them have gotten help... but a lot have had to fight for every scrap...
I'd also like to say that people like Chuck Schumer, Carolyn Maloney, and a few others have been stellar with trying to help them. I've said that in the past.
Do these people deserve to know how and why their loved ones were murdered? The facts speak for themselves.
who got help and who didn't?
I would really like to know the magnatude of the rescue workers that did not get medical help and the reasons why?
There has been numerous articles about the rescue workers not getting help in these blogs, it does seem a little misleading if the level of medical help has been in the hundreds of millions of dollars to date.
I am not a denier, i just simply want clarity from both sides of the story as to make informed decision as to who the bad guys are.
From reading these blog one is lead to beleve the no funding whatsoever has been offered when it seems this is not the case at all. When one debates these subjects with deniers, and uses misleading information as ammunition, the entire reputation and cause of the said thruther is jepodised.
can someone please clarify who has not been offered compensation and who has?
thanks,
Rhys
One of the responders said...
"The ominious bill that allocated $70 million for us this year is a joke. And it is the same $70m we got last year. It is part of the yearly budget done by the white house. The year before we got $108 million and George Bush tried to cut that by 77%. With that, Robert Wood Johnson in NJ almost closed its doors on June 30th because lack of funding."
Here's a good indication of one of the problems they've had to face.
As I said, you need to look at the history to determine who the bad guys are. It's taken A LOT of fighting to get to where they are today.
Do these people deserve to know how and why their loved ones were murdered? The facts speak for themselves.