Mayor Mamdani and FDNY Release Report Detailing Long-Term Health Effects of 9/11 and the World Trade Center Rescue and Recovery Effort on FDNY Members
What you should know
- Report draws on 25 years of medical monitoring, treatment and research through the FDNY World Trade Center Health Program
- More than 10,000 FDNY members are certified with a 9/11-related physical health condition
NEW YORK – Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore today released the City’s World Trade Center 25-Year Health Impact Report, detailing the latest findings on the long-term health effects of September 11, 2001, and the World Trade Center rescue and recovery effort on FDNY members
Produced by the FDNY World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP), the report draws on 25 years of medical monitoring, treatment and research involving firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, officers, civilians, retirees and other FDNY members who responded to the World Trade Center and participated in the rescue and recovery effort.
The findings underscore the importance of early and continued health monitoring, coupled with integrated care for exposure-related mental and physical health conditions. Data collected through the FDNY WTCHP was instrumental in documenting the long-term health consequences of World Trade Center exposure and demonstrating the need for continued federal support.
That research helped inform Congress as it authorized the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act in 2010, reauthorized the program in 2015 and provided full funding in 2026 to ensure the WTCHP can continue caring for responders and survivors for the rest of their lives.
“This report is a reminder of a debt that New York can never fully repay. Twenty-five years ago, FDNY members ran toward danger on our city’s darkest day and returned to Ground Zero day after day to help our city recover,” said Mayor Mamdani. “We honor their bravery, sacrifice and selflessness not only with our words, but through our actions. Today, more than 10,000 FDNY members are living with a 9/11-related illness. Our obligation to them and their families did not end when the fires were extinguished or when the rubble was cleared. Just as New Yorkers came together on our city’s darkest day, we must remain steadfast in making sure every person who answered the call receives the care and support they deserve.”
“Every FDNY member and New Yorker who was in Lower Manhattan on September 11 and in the days and weeks that followed remembers the dust and debris that surrounded the World Trade Center site,” said Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore. “At the FDNY, when we say we Never Forget, we mean it, and that is especially true for our sickened members. From the earliest days after the attacks, the FDNY Bureau of Health Services and the FDNY World Trade Center Health Program have worked to protect those who gave so much. Twenty-five years later, we continue to see and feel the lasting health impacts of that day, and we know the research done here continues to help us better understand these illnesses and save lives.”
A summary of the report’s findings includes:
- 86% of World Trade Center responders diagnosed with cancer are alive five years after diagnosis, compared with 63% of New York State residents who were not exposed to the World Trade Center and were diagnosed with the same cancers.
- More than 84% of enrolled responders are still participating in the FDNY WTCHP.
- 10,562 members are certified for at least one physical health condition, including lower respiratory disease, upper respiratory disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
- 4,496 members are certified for at least one mental health condition. The number of members reporting symptoms of PTSD and depression has decreased since the initial post-9/11 period.
- 4,257 members currently have cancer certification. The most common cancer among FDNY WTCHP members has been nonmelanoma skin cancer, followed by prostate cancer.
Media Contact
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