Legacy of 9/11...Toxic Dust

Joseph and Linda Zadroga, parents of James Zadroga, after whom the Zadroga Act was named

More than 18,000 people are suffering from illnesses linked to the dust from the attacks on New York's World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. The figure comes from the US government's monitoring and treatment programme for 9/11 emergency workers, volunteers and local residents.  The most common afflictions are respiratory problems including asthma and sinusitis, but muscular and intestinal conditions are reported as well.

The senior US official managing the health legacy of the attacks warns that early deaths are possible among the survivors. Dr John Howard, Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said it was "plausible" that people would die of exposure to the dust. He singled out damage to the lungs - interstitial fibrosis - as one of the most serious effects. The dust from the remains of the World Trade Center towers covered lower Manhattan "You lose capacity to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide, and essentially your lung is forming a scar inside so you have less ability to breathe."  Dr Howard said people could die of "many of these conditions that we have seen associated with these exposures".

The dust - which blew though neighbouring streets and settled over Lower Manhattan - contained a dangerous mix of chemicals. Researchers found a high proportion of highly alkaline particles from the pulverised concrete, but also asbestos and heavy metals like lead and mercury from thousands of computers and lights.

Nearly 3,000 people died when the two 110-storey buildings were destroyed - the single greatest atrocity on US soil - but those who rushed to help are among potential victims of a toxic fallout.  Up to 80,000 people - including firemen, police officers, emergency workers, contractors and cleaning staff - are believed to have been present in the aftermath.  Soon after the attacks people reported what became known as "World Trade Center cough" but symptoms have since become more serious. The US government's WTC Health Programme - which has more than 60,000 people registered as potentially vulnerable - spells out the risks:

"There is no question that thousands of World Trade Center responders have developed chronic, disabling illnesses as a result of their horrific exposures.  "Based on accumulated knowledge and medical science, occupational medicine physicians have now learned that, for many responders, WTC-related physical and mental conditions are likely to be permanent. "Sadder still, new patients are still being seen who haven't been evaluated before or treated."

Most focus has been on the firemen who led the effort to search for survivors and, later, for remains. One major study of New York firefighters, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2010, found significant decreases in lung capacity - even six years after the attacks. This is seen as a highly credible finding because it involved no fewer than 12,781 people and included lung function tests conducted before and after 9/11.

 More controversial is the question of whether the conditions associated with the dust have so far caused any deaths. In 2006, a New Jersey pathologist ruled that a detective, James Zadroga, died of lung disease that was linked to WTC dust. The finding was later challenged by the New York medical examiner, but the detective's case was deemed serious enough to merit his name being given to new legislation.  The Zadroga Act, passed in December 2010 and written into law in January this year, authorizes $4.7bn (£2.9bn) for monitoring, treatment and compensation for victims. Among the rescuers was police officer Jeff Endean, who has retired on health grounds including respiratory problems, headaches and sinus trouble. "The bad days are when it's very hard to breathe. There's a lot of coughing and anybody who's had bronchitis or something like that, the more you cough the more it hurts," Mr Endean said. "The headaches start and it inhibits you from doing many things. You can't run. I really don't run anymore. I haven't run since 9/11."

His wife Eileen believes that despite medication his condition is deteriorating: "I see it getting worse for him. It's shorter periods of time between his infections and not being well and being sick. The periods of time are shorter and it is getting worse each time he gets sick."  More recently, new categories of people have come forward with symptoms, including the army of cleaning staff deployed to rid Lower Manhattan offices of dust.

Alex Sanchez was called to work near Ground Zero on 12 September 2001 and found "massive dust, green smoke, yellow smoke all over the place".

Alex Sanchez helped clean the dust from buildings in lower Manhattan and is now ill His task was to clean the air ducts and ventilation systems. "What I saw in the dust was glistening particles of dust coming towards me, because I had a flashlight and this was a dark tunnel, so what I was illuminating was all these particles that I was breathing and digesting at the time." He worked in different buildings, but only in two of them was he equipped with a face mask. Mr Sanchez has since suffered from severe breathing difficulties, headaches and gastric problems, and is assessed as unfit to work.

Architect Enzo Ardovini had worked in the rubble and has since suffered from a series of conditions related to his memory.  "I couldn't remember things, and every time I went for check-ups, they were checking my lungs," Mr Ardovini said. "They were checking my shoulder, and I kept on saying to those doctors, 'I'm fine from here down. Something's not right with my brain, so you need to check.' "
Mr Ardovini is now one of thousands claiming compensation for their injuries - a move provided for under the Zadroga Act.

 His lawyer, Troy Rosasco, warns that many illnesses, such as Mr Ardovini's memory loss, will only emerge in the coming years.  "This is just the beginning. This is not - 10 years out - the end," Mr Rosasco said.
"We're going to be facing people getting sick with 9/11 related injuries and illnesses for another 20 years at least."

How he acquired that famous yell

Virus Slows Cancer Spread...Holds Key to Possible Cure

An engineered virus, injected into the blood, can selectively target cancer cells throughout the body in what researchers have labelled a medical first. The virus attacked only tumours, leaving the healthy tissue alone, in a small trial on 23 patients, according to the journal Nature.

Using viruses to attack cancers is not a new concept, but they have needed to be injected directly into tumours in order to evade the immune system. Scientists  in Canada modified the vaccinia virus, which is more famous for being used to develop a smallpox vaccine. The virus, named JX-594, is dependent upon a chemical pathway, common in some cancers, in order to replicate.

It was injected at different doses into the blood of 23 patients with cancers which had spread to multiple organs in the body. "I believe that some day, viruses and other biological therapies could truly transform our approach for treating cancer,” said Prof John Bell of the University of Ottawa.

 In the eight patients receiving the highest dose, seven had the virus replicating in their tumours, but not in healthy tissue. Prof  Bell, lead researcher, said: "We are very excited because this is the first time in medical history that a viral therapy has been shown to consistently and selectively replicate in cancer tissue after intravenous infusion in humans. Intravenous delivery is crucial for cancer treatment because it allows us to target tumours throughout the body as opposed to just those that we can directly inject."

Infection prevented further tumour growth in six patients for a time.  The virus did not cure the cancer. Patients were given only one dose of the virus as the trial was designed to test the safety of the virus.
It is thought that the virus could be used to deliver treatments directly to cancerous cells in high concentrations and perhaps more than one treatment for longer lasting or possibly curative effects
Prof Bell acknowledges that the research is still in the very early stages.
Cancer Research UK's Prof Nick Lemoine, also director of Barts Cancer Institute, said: "Viruses that multiply in just tumour cells - avoiding healthy cells - are showing real promise as a new biological approach to target hard-to-treat cancers.  "This new study is important because it shows that a virus previously used safely to vaccinate against smallpox in millions of people can now be modified to reach cancers through the bloodstream - even after cancer has spread widely through the patient's body.  It is particularly encouraging that responses were seen even in tumours like mesothelioma, a cancer which can be particularly hard to treat."

Great news and renewed hope.

A New Society of Tolerance and Respect for the Law....Libya....Painful Re-birth

Libya's new interim leaders have assured world leaders they will build a society full of tolerance and respect for the rule of law. Speaking at a Paris meeting, National Transitional Council (NTC) head Mustafa Abdel Jalil promised a new constitution and elections within 18 months.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who chaired the meeting, stressed the need for "reconciliation and forgiveness". He said air strikes would go on as long as ex-leader Col Gaddafi was a threat. ( Where is Mr Gadaffi??) Mr Sarkozy said all 63 nations at the meeting were committed to returning frozen assets to the Libyan people. (Just make sure someone supervises that a little Mr Sarkozy. Huge amounts of money notoriously go astray in middle-eastern countries. Even more so when no one is really in charge)

Col Gaddafi has still not been captured by the interim authorities. In an audio message broadcast on a loyalist TV channel on Thursday, he vowed he would never surrender. He was speaking on the 42nd anniversary of his emergence as Libya's leader, which until last year was an occasion for annual celebrations in the country.
(Wasn't Gadaffi a supposedly, interim leader also??)This year there were flag-waving celebrations in Tripoli's main square to mark the date - only the flags were the black, green and red colours of the NTC rather than the all-green of the Gaddafi regime, and the square is now known as Martyrs' Square, rather than the Green Square.

Nicolas Sarkozy: "The participants are going to ask the NTC to undertake a process of reconciliation." Mr Sarkozy held the conference jointly with UK Prime Minister David Cameron - the two leaders who were instrumental in passing the UN resolution that allowed Nato forces to intervene in Libya. And both men stressed that Nato would continue its involvement as long as it was needed to protect civilians. "We are determined to continued with Nato strikes for as long as Mr Gaddafi and his supporters represent a threat to Libya," said Mr Sarkozy. And Mr Sarkozy said everyone had agreed to unfreeze assets blocked when Col Gaddafi was still in power. "After going around the table, it's about $15bn of Libyan assets in our countries that are immediately unfrozen," he said. He added that the NTC must engage in reconciliation in order to avoid the mistakes made in other countries.

Mr Cameron urged the council to make sure perpetrators of the "unspeakable crimes" that were coming to light in Tripoli were brought to justice. This was not a moment of triumph, but it was clear that the British Prime Minister David Cameron and the French President Nicolas Sarkozy took quiet satisfaction from the turn of events in Libya.

Nonetheless the emphasis throughout this Paris meeting was on the actions of the Libyans themselves; both what they have achieved already ("it is the Libyan people who have liberated Libya" said Mr Cameron) but also what they must still achieve in the future. NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil called on his people to establish a society marked by tolerance, forgiveness and respect for the rule of law.

This is a message that plays well in Western capitals but these aspirations are a measure of the huge task facing Libya's new interim authorities. A war must still be won while dealing with a looming humanitarian crisis encompassing shortages of water, medicines and food. And the institutions for a new Libyan democracy must also be constructed from scratch. But it is a sign that the NTC has been accepted by most of the world as the new face of Libya and that the international focus is beginning to move from conflict to reconstruction.

The EU announced on Thursday that it had lifted sanctions on 28 entities - including oil firms and port authorities - to help the NTC get the economy moving again. The decision will take effect on Friday. The NTC received a further diplomatic boost on Thursday when Russia formally recognised its authority.

They still need to find Gadaffi and mete him due justice. He remains a symbol of everything they are trying to abolish. They will get full closure when the author of their years of hardship and deprivation is where he belongs, locked safely away or possibly executed.

Space Junkyard is a Hazard

Illustration of space junk orbiting the earth

Scientists in the US have warned Nasa that the amount of so-called space junk orbiting Earth is at tipping point.  A report by the National Research Council says the debris could cause fatal leaks in spaceships or destroy valuable satellites.

It calls for international regulations to limit the junk and more research into the possible use of launching large magnetic nets or giant umbrellas. The debris includes clouds of minuscule fragments, old boosters and satellites.

Some computer models show the amount of orbital rubbish "has reached a tipping point, with enough currently in orbit to continually collide and create even more debris, raising the risk of spacecraft failures," the research council said in a statement on Thursday.  Hopes of limiting the amount of space junk in orbit suffered two major setbacks in recent years.

 In 2007, China conducted an anti-satellite weapon test which destroyed a decommissioned weather satellite, smashing the object into 150,000 pieces larger than 1cm. The International Space Station sometimes has to dodge orbital debris Two years later, two satellites - one defunct and one active - crashed in orbit, creating even more debris.  "Those two single events doubled the amount of fragments in Earth orbit and completely wiped out what we had done in the last 25 years," said Donald Kessler, who led the research.

There are 22,000 pieces of debris large enough to track from the ground, but thousands of smaller objects could still cause serious damage.  The International Space Station must occasionally dodge some of the junk, which flies around the Earth at speeds of up to 17,500 mph (28,164 km/h). In June, some debris narrowly missed the space station, forcing its six crew to go to their escape capsules and prepare for an emergency evacuation back to Earth.

The situation is critical, said Mr Kessler, a retired Nasa scientist, because colliding debris creates even more of the junk. "We've lost control of the environment," he said. The report makes no recommendations about how to clean up the field of debris. But it refers to an earlier study for the Pentagon's science think-tank, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa).

The Darpa report, dubbed "Catcher's Mitt", suggested a range of technologies, including harpoons, nets and an umbrella-shaped device that would sweep up the debris.  The aim would be to push the debris further towards the earth where it would burn up, or into a higher but safer orbit.
People of the rocket science variety; surely you could see this coming for the last half century; in fact from that first Russian Sputnik. And yet you let the situation develop to this state without a viable plan to put in operation. How short-sighted of you.  So eager were you to win the 'space race', you neglected the so necessary housekeeping.  Now it is a big problem. Get on the ball.

Another Dangerous Storm Brewing Over Louisiana

Three major oil companies have closed down their platforms in the Gulf in advance of the storm Louisiana has declared a state of emergency as it prepares for a tropical depression to bring up to 15in (38cm) of rain over the weekend. Tropical Depression 13 - to be named Lee if upgraded, as expected, to a tropical storm - is creeping north through the Gulf of Mexico.

Offshore platforms for Exxon Mobil, BP and Shell were shut down on Thursday. While the storm could spell flooding for parts of the Gulf, it could also bring much-needed rain to Texas. The US is still recovering from Hurricane Irene, which hit the east coast last weekend, killing more than 40 people. Nearly 900,000 homes and businesses still have no electricity.

The new tropical depression was packing winds of 35mph (55km/h) and centred about 225 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared the state of emergency on Thursday evening, saying coastal and inland areas could be hit by flash floods within 48 hours. Tropical storm warnings are now in effect from the Texas state line to the eastern Mississippi coast.

Texas is in the grip of a severe drought and rains from the developing weather system could bring some relief.
National Hurricane Center director Bill Read said: "We've got a huge area of moisture. We've got a developing wind field.  "We're probably going to see some tremendous rain amounts and the corresponding flooding that goes with that."

Meanwhile, Hurricane Katia was downgraded to a tropical storm on Thursday, but was expected to regain strength as it moved westward in the Atlantic. The Atlantic hurricane season usually brings about a dozen named storms, but Katia is already the 11th with half the season still ahead.
 I hope the heavens don't dump too much on an already disaster burdened state.

Wayne Sabaj : Unemployed Man Finds $150,000 In His Back Yard

 

                      

A man in northwest Illinois found a valuable surprise in his backyard Tuesday afternoon : A duffle bag filled with stacks of $20 bills.

As Wayne Sabaj , a 49-year-old umemployed carpenter living in Johnsburg , explained to WGN , he had been looking for broccoli in his garden when he saw the duffle bag . After Sabaj showed the bag to his father , with whom he lives , they decided to alert the police.

When the McHenry Sheriff's Department arrived , they discovered a second bag . All total , the bags contained $150,000.

Sabaj told the Northwest Herald that he briefly considered keeping the money for himself , but he feared not only where the money came from , but  who might be coming back to retrieve it .

"I went and spent my last $10 on cigarettes yesterday , and I turned in $150,000 today ," says Sabaj.

"I haven't worked in two years . Yeah , I was like , I could really use this money," Sabaj told ABC7 . "With my luck , it would be a bank robbery and I'd get caught  and they would say I robbed a bank."

The bags are in the custody of police who are processing them for fingerprints  and other evidence , according to the Northwest Herald . There are currently no suspects . In the bags place , investigators left a business card listing a phone number and a "please call" note . If an owner is not identified , they may assist Sabaj in determining whether he can claim the money . Good luck with that Wayne.