6 Years Later, 9/11 Health Questions Linger

(Page 4)

Many of these illnesses may not show up for decades. "It is definitely far too early to know what's coming down the road for cancer, for example," Stellman said.

She believes it may never be certain whether Ground Zero exposure was carcinogenic. "Because, tragic and horrifying as [9/11] was, the population exposed may never be big enough [statistically] to actually give us a definite answer," Stellman explained.

The psychological consequences for workers are becoming increasingly clear, however. In another New York City health department report, released in August, researchers found that one in every eight responders and workers has come down with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Risks for the troubling condition appear to correlate with the length of time workers spent at the Trade Center site, how soon they arrived after the disaster, and their level of training in dealing with traumatic events, the study found.

All of the data, on both mental and physical health, does point to one conclusion, the experts said -- that workers will need to be monitored and tended to for decades to come.

"They are the people who put themselves at risk to help this country heal," Geyh said. "We should be vigilant to make sure that we understand what's going on with them."

More information

There's more on the health of Ground Zero workers at the World Trade Center Health Registry.