August 19, 2002—The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on August 5, 2002 an $11.4 million contract with the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine to determine whether rescue and recovery workers and volunteers who worked at the World Trade Center disaster site are experiencing related illnesses or injuries.
The contract, to be administered by the HHS’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), will fund free standardized clinical examinations to workers and volunteers involved in Ground Zero rescue and cleanup efforts. Under the contract, New York’s Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and a consortium of occupational health clinics in New York, New Jersey, and other locations will provide the examinations to eligible workers and volunteers.
The goal of the project is to help identify symptoms, injuries, or conditions that may indicate long-term illness as a result of work at the World Trade Center, so that interventions can be pursued. Mt. Sinai will also compile a database of the findings, allowing researchers to assess potential occupational illness and injury patterns among the workers, and providing data for future studies where health changes over time can be identified and addressed.
The examinations will focus on identifying health problems most likely to occur as a result of work at or near the World Trade Center site. These include potential respiratory effects, musculoskeletal disorders, chronic effects from injuries at the site, and mental health conditions.
It is estimated that the program will provide screenings to at least 8,500 workers and volunteers, who will receive a report from the results. General, de-identified information about the screenings will also be shared with industry, labor, and government to help identify potential trends in health effects.
For information on the screening program or to sign up, contact Mt. Sinai at 888/702-0630.
