Mind and matter: OEM and the World Trade Center

Our plain-English summary of Mind and matter: OEM and the World Trade Center, by H.M. Kipen, M. Gochfeld (Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2002).

The study

• Authors: H.M. Kipen, M. Gochfeld
• Journal: Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Published: 2002;59(3):145-6
• Type of article: Editorial
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Summary of the article

This editorial, written about two months after the 11 September 2001 collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC), examined the aftermath from an occupational and environmental medicine viewpoint. It reported no new data. The authors identified four exposed groups (building occupants, rescue workers, demolition workers and neighbouring residents) and three phases: evacuation, rescue and recovery, and demolition and removal. They noted that by one week after the collapse 10 000 people were working on the site without a comprehensive site safety plan, and that respirator use was haphazard. Asbestos was described as a primary toxic concern for site workers and neighbours. Asbestos fireproofing had been used in the early stages of construction. Agencies sampled asbestos with different methods, units and standards, which left the public uncertain. The authors questioned claims that short fibres or chrysotile posed minimal risk. About 9000 residents returned within two weeks to buildings contaminated by dust containing lead and asbestos, with little clear guidance on cleanup. Other concerns included smoke, odours, a possible phosgene hazard, and a "WTC cough" among firefighters. The authors judged the likelihood of persistent irritant asthma from exposures after the first few days to be low. They raised the possibility of a "WTC syndrome" of unexplained symptoms, comparable to Gulf War illnesses. They concluded that combining psychosocial factors with toxic exposure assessment and risk communication is an emerging agenda for occupational and environmental medicine.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This article was an editorial and reported no new data. About two months after the World Trade Center collapse of 11 September 2001, the authors discussed occupational and environmental medicine issues for building occupants, rescue workers, demolition workers and neighbouring residents. They described asbestos as a primary toxic concern for site workers and neighbours. They wrote that asbestos fireproofing was used in the early stages of construction and then replaced by other materials about halfway through. Different agencies sampled using different methods and reported results in different units. The authors wrote that the literature did not convincingly support claims of minimal risk based on most fibres being shorter than 5 micrometres, and that claims that risk could be ignored because the asbestos was chrysotile were erroneous. They noted a reported "WTC cough", with firefighters seemingly most affected. They also wrote that formal risk assessments had yet to be done on whether the air and dust were a substantial hazard for pregnant women. The authors concluded that combining psychosocial trauma with toxic exposures and risk assessment was a complex emerging new agenda for the field.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Editorial (viewpoint commentary); no original study data
• Who was studied: No study population. The editorial discussed four groups affected by the World Trade Center collapse in New York: building occupants, rescue workers, demolition workers, and neighbouring residents.
• Exposure: Dust and smoke from the World Trade Center collapse and fire, including asbestos from fireproofing (described as chrysotile in some claims), crushed concrete, lead fume from paint, and volatile substances such as benzene and styrene
• Main results:
  • The authors stated that asbestos fireproofing was used in the early stages of construction and was then replaced by other materials about halfway through.
  • The authors wrote that agencies sampled asbestos using different methods, reported results in different units, and compared them to different standards.
  • The authors wrote that the literature did not convincingly support the position that fibres shorter than 5 micrometres posed minimal risk.
  • The authors described as erroneous the claim that risk could be ignored because the asbestos was chrysotile.
  • The authors noted that the 9000 residents of nearby buildings were allowed to return to their apartments within two weeks.
  • The authors wrote that, based on the literature, the likelihood of persistent irritant asthma (RADS) from dust or smoke exposures after the first few days was low, although exacerbation effects may be expected.
  • The authors described a reported cough, dubbed "WTC cough" by firefighters, who seemed most prominently affected.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that explicitly incorporating psychosocial trauma, vulnerability and responses with toxic exposures, risk assessment and risk communication represents a complex emerging new agenda for occupational and environmental medicine.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors wrote that formal risk assessments had yet to be done on whether the air and dust were a substantial hazard for pregnant women, given detection of dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic hydrocarbons and metals.
  • The authors wrote from a vantage point of two months after the collapse.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Respirator, Chrysotile.

Related studies

• Health and environmental consequences of the world trade center disaster — P.J. Landrigan, P.J. Lioy, et al. (2004)
• Characterization of the dust/smoke aerosol that settled east of the World Trade Center (WTC) in lower Manhattan after the collapse of the WTC 11 September 2001 — P.J. Lioy, C.P. Weisel, et al. (2002)
• Acute eosinophilic pneumonia in a New York City firefighter exposed to World Trade Center dust — W.N. Rom, M. Weiden, et al. (2002)
• Occupational exposures during the World Trade Center disaster response — K.M. Wallingford, E.M. Snyder (2001)
• Health effects of World Trade Center (WTC) Dust: An unprecedented disaster's inadequate risk management — M. Lippmann, M.D. Cohen, et al. (2015)
• The legacy of World Trade Center dust — J.M. Samet, A.S. Geyh, et al. (2007)

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