9/11 health fund to cover cancer treatment

The 70,000 surviving firefighters, police officers and other first responders who raced to the World Trade Centre after the attacks of September 11, 2001 will be entitled to free monitoring and treatment for 50 forms of cancer.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health announced on Monday that those exposed to toxic compounds from the wreckage, which smoldered for three months, will be covered for cancer under the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

The act, which also covers responders and survivors of the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon outside Washington, was signed into law by Barack Obama in January.

The decision addresses concerns over the rising health toll for emergency workers in the wake of the attacks, when aircraft slammed into the WTC in New York and the US military command centre in northern Virginia.

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