Review of Environmental Exposures after the World Trade Center Disaster and its Effects on Health and Disease

The World Trade Center (WTC) disaster created an environmental exposure to aerosolized dust and gases that contained various genotoxic and carcinogenic chemicals. Various analyses of the WTC particulate matter have shown that it contained high concentrations of heavy metals, ionics and asbestos derived from pulverized building materials. WTC dust collected from the site also contained organic carcinogens including Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and other hydrocarbons. These chemicals can lead to DNA damage, contributing to an increased risk of prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, myeloma and other cancers in first responders. Exposure to the dust cloud also potentially led to systemic inflammatory responses that contributed to lung and heart diseases seen in the exposed population. The effects of WTC exposure continue to be felt in first responder and other exposed populations, even many years after the exposure, underscoring the impact of the environment on human health.