Researchers tell of health studies tied to WTC disaster By Carl Glassman What—if anything—will be the long-term health consequences of living or working near the World Trade Center catastrophe? Much of what we finally learn will come from federally funded collaborative research at eight universities in four states. Last month the lead researchers of those studies came to the Tribeca Performing Arts Center to talk about what they are doing and what they have found so far. The results, though preliminary, look promising. In a study of more than 180 cleanup workers, researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that acute respiratory symptoms such as coughs, phlegm and wheezing were more prevalent than before they began working at the site. But in most workers, said Dr. Alison Geyh, the lead researcher, there was no sign of lung obstruction. “For the general community this is a very good story,” Geyh said. Another study, however, was not encouraging for the most heavily exposed workers. Of 100 ironworkers who were on the pile during the first three days of the disaster, half had shortness of breath and about two thirds were coughing six months after the disaster. As late as July, about two thirds showed signs of post traumatic stress, according to the researcher, Dr. Jacqueline Moline of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The content and effects of World Trade Center dust are the focus of a study by the New York University School of Medicine and Lung Chi Chen, an expert in particulate pollution. Chen reported that 98 percent of the dust collected at Ground Zero and 100 Liberty Street was at least 10 microns, too large to get past the nose and throat and into the lungs. Dust levels, measured at NYU Downtown Hospital, he said, were high in the first weeks but within EPA limits and by October, Lower Manhattan was similar to the rest of the city. In mice studies, Chen found that trade center dust caused less inflamation than dust from power plants and slightly more than ash from Mount St. Helens. More research is needed, he said, but “we do not anticipate that WTC dust will produce serious long-term respiratory consequences.” Subjects Still Needed Three studies still need the help of Lower Manhattan residents. A study of the long-term respiratory health of Downtown residents, conducted by NYU/Bellevue Hospital, has insufficient data because too few residents have returned questionaires. Residents are urged to return the survey even if they have no symptoms. For a copy or help filling it out, call Anne Hoerning at 562-5235. For their study on the effects of the disaster on pregnant women and their babies, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine is still looking for women who were pregnant on Sept. 11. Contact Joan Golub at 241-8921. A study of current air quality below Canal Street, led by Dr. Jack Caravanos of Hunter College, needs volunteers to wear monitors. Call 481-7569 or (908) 337-8818.