City to reveal detailed 9/11 cancer data
Tomorrow, the city will release data detailing what types of cancers 321 cops have after 9/11 and when they were diagnosed, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said this afternoon.
De Blasio has been pushing Mayor Michael Bloomberg to release full data about the cancers, which 9/11 responders say is necessary to prove that their illnesses were caused by Ground Zero dust.
“These are men and women who have either tragically received diagnoses of cancer or live in fear every day that it might happen,” de Blasio said.
If the federal government decides that the cancers are from 9/11, treatment would be covered under the Zadroga Act.
Bloomberg has promised the data but voiced concerns about privacy issues. “The city has been working directly with Mount Sinai on a way to release the data in a manner that protected individual privacy,” a Bloomberg spokeswoman told Metro today.
De Blasio said they reached an agreement to reveal nearly everything but names – age, gender, race, types of cancers and when they were diagnosed.
He criticized the city for only revealing the data after they threatened legal action.
“It’s disgraceful that it took so long,” said Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch.
