Several members of the New York City Council Monday contested the findings of a new 9/11 health report that found no concrete evidence of a link between cancer and exposure to dust from the World Trade Center.

At a joint hearing of three City Council committees, the World Trade Center Medical Working Group, commissioned by Mayor Bloomberg to examine the health of individuals exposed to debris from the WTC attacks, presented its second annual report.  The report summarized 48 studies published over the last year that showed high levels of respiratory ailments and stress among rescue and recovery workers, residents and evacuees.

But in its most controversial conclusion, the group states that the “relationship between WTC exposure and other longer-term illnesses, including cancer, is unknown.”

Council Members Domenic Recchia, Jr., Alan Gerson and Gale Brewer all expressed concern, confusion and, in the case of Recchia, outrage over the report’s conclusion. “You mislead the public, mislead many elected official, and mislead the Congress by saying it’s not related,” Recchia said, citing a study of first responders diagnosed with cancer. “I disagree with you.”

Tamiru Mammo, a senior policy advisor in the Mayor’s office, defended the report.  “We’re very concerned about anyone who’s diagnosed with cancer,” he said. “And we continue to monitor all the evidence, especially with regards to cancer.”

Mammo also emphasized that the Medical Working Group has not dismissed the possibility of a link between cancers and exposure, but more research is needed before a causal relationship can be established.  The report acknowledges a recent investigation conducted by the New York/New Jersey WTC Clinical Consortium, which confirmed eight cases of multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, among a group of 28,252 first responders.  But, according to Mammo, while these findings were “notable,” they were not statistically significant.
The hearing comes at a crucial point in the passage of the so-called Zadroga bill, which is currently before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  If passed, the bill would provide health care and compensation for individuals affected by 9/11.  Many of Recchia’s comments reflected a concern that the bill does not include coverage for those diagnosed with cancer, in large part because official reports like the Medical Working Group’s have yet to confirm a link between the disease and exposure.

“Too many people are waiting ” Recchia said. “If this administration keeps putting out reports saying we’re still studying cancer when there are reports out there that say there is a link, then we’re never going to help the people that are coming down with cancer.”

A number of  9/11 community and environmental advocates at the hearing  applauded the council members’ criticism of the bill because they believe it would unfairly limit coverage.  Esther Regelson, a downtown resident who suffers from respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms she believes were caused by exposure to WTC dust, said, “There’s a lot of issues that still need to be addressed,” referring, among other concerns, to recognizing cancer and other emerging illnesses as 9/11 related conditions.  “We’d certainly like to see it expanded.”