Tara McDonough - OnEarth Magazine

A Few Final Thoughts...

For my environmental research project for the ELEA course this semester I have been measuring and seeking to understand the health issues that are effecting thousands of 9/11 rescue and recovery workers. The primary source of research for my project was acquired through various interviews and interactions. I have always wondered why there has been a lack of resolve and advocacy regarding the health issues that are plaguing thousands of Ground Zero workers and those who chose to remain in the surrounding area. This is a prominent and ongoing issue that needs a great deal of attention and deserves an even greater amount of action. I hope to achieve further recognition and advocacy for the 9/11 rescue workers and others exposed to the toxic aftermath. The connections I have made and opportunities I have experienced ...read full post

Comments (1) | December 15, 2009
From a Doctor's Perspective: Dr. J. Moline, Director of the WTC Medical Program

(Dr. Jacqueline Moline, director of the World Trade Center monitoring and treatment program at Mount Sinai Medical Center, examines Warren Bub, 42. She says some ground zero workers are being examined for the first time.)

Dr. Jacqueline Moline:

Dr. J. Moline is the Director of the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program Clinical Center at Mount Sinai Hospital. The Center was previously located in a separate building on 101st street. Dr. Moline finds that the “new location plays a big part in the [their] efforts to help and support our WTC responders, as they continue to come in for their annual exams or treatment visits”. (The WTC Responder Health Watch, Winter 2009) Unfortunately, the ...read full post

Comments (0) | December 9, 2009
9/11 and its Aftermath, a New York Problem?

The September 11th rescue and recovery workers, survivors, and advocates I met over the duration of my nearly 24-hour trip with the FealGood Foundation to Washington, D.C. serve as continual reminders, reminding me both why I embarked upon this sensitive project and how I have become so engrossed and inspired by it. At this point I would like to take the time to introduce John Graham, Reggie Cervantes.

John Graham and Reggie Cervantes:

(Michael Moore, second from right, poses for a photograph with Bill Maher, left, Reggie Cervantes, second from ...read full post

Comments (0) | December 8, 2009
Taking the Cause to D.C.: A Rally at the U.S. Capitol for 9/11 Health Care

On November 18th I left for a rally in Washington, D.C. with the FealGood Foundation, The New York City Firefighter Brotherhood Foundation and a coalition of hundreds September 11th Rescue and Recovery workers. John Feal, founder of the FealGood Foundation, who I have discussed in previous blogs, kindly offered to save me a seat on one of the organized buses that left from New York City for Washington, D.C. at 3:30 in the morning and returned later that evening. The premise of the trip to Washington D.C. with the FealGood Foundation was to rally for H.R. 847 “The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act” and to urge Congressional leaders to bring the act to the attention of the floors of the house and Senate so that it might be voted upon this year. The bill intends to provide comprehensive health care and compensation ...read full post

Comments (0) | December 8, 2009
Jevon Thomas: 9/11 Recovery Worker and Survivor

Jevon Thomas was one of the first responders that John Feal urged me to get in contact with.

When I first spoke with Jevon Thomas he told me that his car had just been repossessed and he, his wife and two children were in survival mode. Due to a variety of complicated health issues that Mr. Thomas began suffering from in mid-2001 he is unable to work and thus unable to pay the bills.

Jevon Thomas delivered and serviced the portable toiled used by rescue and recovery workers at Ground Zero. Jevon Thomas was at Ground Zero, straight from September 12, 2001 into December of 2002, when he felt a very painful lump growing in the palm of his left hand. Already suffering from the notorious “WTC Cough” and a variety of other respiratory issues, Thomas knew that ...read full post

Comments (1) | December 7, 2009
Meet John Feal: 9/11 First Responder and Advocate

Name: John Feal

Age: September 11, 2001 he was 34 years of age; present day 42 years of age

Residence: Long island

9/11 Reflections: In 2001 John Feal was a 34 year-old US Army veteran and demolition supervisor. On the days after the terrorist attacks in New York City, John Feal joined what has been called an “army of blue-collar workers” who were all converging upon the smoldering wreckage that was the World Trade Center. Feal, like thousands of other responders took part in what is said to be “the largest recovery operation in American History”. Several days after 9/11, John Feal reported experiencing serious respiratory problems, a condition that is now notoriously known as the “WTC Cough”. Six days after the attacks, on September 17th, an eight ...read full post

Comments (3) | December 4, 2009
What is H.R. 847, The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act?

In my last blog I brought up the recently reported deaths of three 9/11 rescue and recovery workers who died of similar cancers within five days of one another. After reviewing my thoughts, I figured that it would be best to use this time to discuss the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act as for those who are and are not aware of what it is, it is a great point of discussion that I could really use some feedback on. I have found that at this point from my various conversations and research that this Bill and its complications encompasses the greater portion of my desired focus from my Environmental Leadership project. As difficult as it is to toss in the complexities of politics into the mix, it is necessary.

H.R. 847 otherwise known as the “James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act”, and even better known as the “James Zadroga Act” was introduced in February of 2009. It was formulated and introduced in the current ...read full post

Comments (1) | December 2, 2009
Three 9/11 Rescue Workers Die of Cancer Within 5 Days of One Another

Recently, a story was highlighted in innumerous newsprints drawing attention to a sensitive issue that dates back eight years. Within a span of five days two New York City police officers and an FDNY firefighter died of cancer in the first week of October. Police officers Robert Grossman, 44, and Cory Diaz, 37, and FDNY firefighter Richard Manetta, 44, all reportedly worked on and around Ground Zero for an extenuating period of time.

Richard Manetta died October 10, a day after Robert Grossman died from a brain tumor he had long suffered from after dedicating a surmountable amount of time at Ground Zero. The preceding Wednesday, Police officer Cory Diaz died of a similarly bizarre cancer at the age of 37.

Their family members and a plethora of advocates blame their deaths on the conditions they worked under at Ground Zero, namely the toxins that were released into the air when the planes hit the twin ...read full post

Comments (1) | December 1, 2009
A Discussion with Ex-NYPD Officers on the Environmental Conditions of Ground Zero and Its Consequences

In seeking to understand the onslaught of chronic and terminal illnesses that are plaguing the Ground Zero rescue workers it is most essential to first survey the environment – which has been described by the many rescuers I have spoken to as “a gruesome crime scene”, “hell on earth” and “World War III” - that they voluntarily subjected themselves to out of heroism for anywhere from 72 hours straight to over 1,000 hours. The World Trade Center towers were built from 1968 to 1972. At this point in time fireproofing material for buildings contained a mixture of cement and asbestos thus hundreds of tons of the material used for the construction of the twin towers was covered with this toxic materials. The cocktail of chemicals and toxins was discussed in greater detail in ...read full post

Comments (0) | October 29, 2009
Revisiting the Lingering Health Concerns of Ground Zero Workers

For the next three months I will be measuring certain effects of the September 11 attacks on New York City. More specifically I plan to research the mounting health issues that are affecting thousands of Ground Zero rescuers and workers.

The September 11th attacks have had and continue to have profound effects upon everyone’s lives –- no matter where one calls “home”. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost on September 11, 2001, and an estimated 2,750 of them resulting form the World Trade Center and 87 and 60 lives from Flights 11 and 175, respectively. It has been reported that more than 90 countries lost citizens in the attacks on the World Trade Center.
The scope of the chronic and tragic health issues effecting ground zero workers is massive and extends beyond ground zero and the ...read full post

Comments (0) | October 11, 2009