New Jersey on Thursday marked the 24th anniversary of the deadly attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 with solemn ceremonies and memorials across the state.
For those who experienced it, the day is etched into memories forever, with the aftermath still unfolding for many. Some have been left to battle with related illnesses — and the bureaucracies that come with it.
To speak to those challenges, NJ Spotlight News spoke with John Feal, a 9/11 first responder-turned-advocate who is urging Congress to fully fund the World Trade Center Health Program, the health care program for those facing related conditions.
On the day after the attacks, Feal and his team of construction demolition experts were called to Ground Zero to aid in the cleanup and recovery mission. After his own health insurance claim was denied when a steal beam injured his foot, he began advocating for himself and other survivors. He teamed up with comedian Jon Stewart, and their advocacy ultimately led to Congress passing the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which authorized the health program.
“There are people who are sick and dying; there’s 143,000 people in the WTC Health Program,” said Feal. “More than one in three now have a certified 9/11-related cancer. That’s staggering. and that is not normal. And it’s only going to get worse.
Feal said it was not just first-responders, either.
“There were 13 schools in lower Manhattan that were in the geographic zone that Congress mapped out considered a toxic exposure area,” he said. “There were kids and now they’re adults, and now they’re gonna get sick with cancer. . . They’re going to die unless we fix this.”
