Six years after the September 11 attacks, police officers, firefighters, and those who helped in the cleanup, are still suffering from health complications due to their exposure to asbestos.

Many Could Never Regain Health

Five months after the incident, people like Pilar Albarado spent five months cleaning offices in close range to the World Trade Center that were affected.

Two years later, Albarado developed a severe cough and is now living with asthma, memory loss and acid reflux.

She is now being treated in the World Trade Center health clinic that recently opened in Bellevue Hospital and claims that she can no longer eat most foods due to the severity of her acid reflux.

“Our problems will be with us for life,” said Albarado in a protest conducted outside congressional offices. “I will never be the same.”

Bush Administration Blamed

Democrats claim Albarado is one in a thousand cases that have been reported since 2001 and blames the Bush Administration for downplaying the asbestos exposure at the time.

At least two deaths and thousands of reports of illnesses and cancer have been linked to the exposure of asbestos of those living within miles of Ground Zero.

Bellevue is currently treating more than a thousand patients due to illness associated with the events of September 11, with many still on a waiting list for treatment.

“We’re finding that there are respiratory problems that are persisting well beyond what we anticipated- considering people were exposed six years ago,” says Alison Geyh at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School, “the question is why.”

(Source: MSNBC)

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