Ground Zero Cleanup Kills New York Police Officer

TheKSBWChannel.com - Health - Ground Zero Cleanup Kills New York Police Officer The death of a 34-year-old police detective who got sick after working at Ground Zero is the first to be positively linked to cleanup at the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The finding was made by a New Jersey coroner and the autopsy made public by the officer's family and union.

Detective James Zadroga developed respiratory disease. He'd spent 470 hours after the attacks sifting through the twin towers' smoldering ruins, wearing a paper mask for protection. His breathing became labored within weeks, he developed a cough and had to use an oxygen tank to breathe. He retired on disability in November 2004. Zadroga died in January.

Pathologist Gerard Breton said Zadroga died on Jan. 6 of respiratory failure and had inflammation in his lung tissue due to "a history of exposure to toxic fumes and dust."

The coroner found material "consistent with dust" in Zadroga's lungs and damage to his liver and said his heart and spleen were enlarged.

Zadroga's parents and 4-year-old daughter appeared at a news conference with half a dozen other detectives who said they have suffered from cancer, strokes, lung disease and other ailments after working at the trade center site.

A class action lawsuit alleges that more than two dozen deaths are related to exposure to Trade Center dust, which doctors believe contained a number of toxic chemicals including asbestos and more than 1 million tons of tower debris.

Doctors running health screening programs, including a city registry following more than 71,000 people, said it will take decades to truly assess the health effects of working at the trade center site.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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