911 rescue workers

Gulf oil spill workers and 9/11 rescue workers' illnesses

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/23/1697316/doctors-call-for-help-protecting.html

By Marisa Taylor
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — A group of doctors who've tracked 9/11 rescue workers' illnesses urged the Obama administration to "prevent a repetition of costly mistakes" made after the terrorist attacks by protecting Gulf Coast oil spill workers from toxic exposure.

MENTAL HEALTH STUDY: 9/11 rescue workers at increased risk for PTSD

NEW YORK — A new study likens post-traumatic stress disorder in World Trade Center rescue and recovery workers to that of U.S. war veterans returning from Afghanistan.

The findings are published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
FULL STUDY in PDF:
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2008/11164/11164.pdf

The study found that the many trade center workers suffered chronic impairment of mental health and social functioning, as well as psychological distress levels that substantially exceeded population norms.

Its authors say the findings underscore a need for long-term mental health screening and surveillance, and continued treatment for the workers and their families.

Questionnaires were filled out by 10,132 workers. The authors say nearly 9 percent met criteria for depression, 5 percent for panic disorders, 62 percent for "substantial stress reaction," and 11 percent for post-traumatic stress disorder.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,430745,00.html

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