Rudy Giuliani’s effort to have his pneumonia treatment covered by a federal 9/11 health program is drawing renewed attention to the lingering illnesses tied to the dust and smoke that blanketed lower Manhattan after the 2001 World Trade Center attacks.
The former New York City mayor, now 81, is seeking enrollment in the World Trade Center Health Program, multiple outlets reported, after being hospitalized with pneumonia and diagnosed with restrictive airway disease that his representatives say stemmed from his time at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
Giuliani was widely praised for leading New York City during and after the attacks; however, his health concerns fit into a broader public health crisis tied to the toxic cloud created when the Twin Towers collapsed.
More people have now died from illnesses linked to toxic exposure after 9/11 than died during the attacks themselves, according to 2021 World Trade Center Health Program data.
The attacks killed roughly 3,000 people on September 11, 2001, while 4,343 survivors and first responders have since died from related illnesses, according to the report.
A report from The Mesothelioma Center said an estimated 410,000 first responders, cleanup crews, and survivors were exposed to air contaminated with pulverized concrete, glass, asbestos, jet fuel residue, and other toxic materials around Ground Zero.
The report said respiratory disease and cancer have caused the largest number of deaths among first responders in the years since the attacks.