Posted on 03/20/2006 7:42:56 PM PST by Calpernia
NEW YORK -- A 41-year-old paramedic who worked at a morgue for months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center was buried Monday after dying of an asbestos-related cancer.
Deborah Reeve, a 17-year paramedic, died on March 15 of mesothelioma, a lung cancer associated with exposure to asbestos, her family said. Reeve developed a cough in late 2003 and retired at the end of 2004 after becoming too ill to work.
Her doctors and family say her cancer was caused by exposure to toxic dust from the World Trade Center site. City health officials say it's too early to definitively link trade center exposure to respiratory illnesses.
A pending lawsuit alleges more than 20 deaths have been linked to ground zero exposure.
Reeve is survived by her husband, also a paramedic, a 10-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son.
ping
Sending my prayers.
God bless Mrs. Reeve and her family. What important work she did!
sad.
The first verified case of mesothelioma and most likely not the last. A grim post 9/11 reminder of the atrocity committed by followers of the religion of peace.
Who are they suing?
Unfortunately for the lawsuits, mesothelioma typically takes 20 to 30 years from exposure to manifest.
I guess some could show up in 4 1/2 years, but a large number seems unlikely.
This is the thread about the lawsuit
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1596102/posts
9/11 Responders Face Uncertain Future
Only 41 years old--the best years were ahead of her.
So sad !
Sad and a poignant reminder that we must NEVER forget and never let our guard down. Prayers up for the bereaved, may the circle be unbroken in Heaven, in Jesus' Name, amen.
OK, this is in my field. I was under the impression that the World Trade Center didn't contain asbestos because the environmental concerns were too great when it was built. Mesothelioma is caused by asbestos exposure. Was there asbestos exposure in the aftermath of 9/11? Could she have been exposed to asbestos at any other time in her life? Mesothelioma usually does take a long time to develop. If it was a 9/11 exposure,then the terrorists have claimed another life.
All the more reason to destroy islamism.
How many muslims are islamist?
Asbestos was used in tower 1 until about the 45th floor, as a heat retardant for the structural steel. It was discontinued after that. It wouldn't have made much difference if it had been used in the upper floors, because it would have been stripped off the structural steel by the impact of the airliners that hit the WTC. Morons sometimes score with a lucky shot, and 911 is proof of that.
Hope they are suing Osama. Or the nut-cases around the world who danced in the streets after 9/11.
Yes, I think 2 years does not correlate well, too. I'd think 30 years, more likely. (NOT a scientist).
Probabaly, and I think rightfully, our government agencies who rushed forward to proclaim that all was safe, no health problems, for the workers within a very short time after the attack.
Wrong- at least one of the towers contained asbestos insulation for a certain number of floors up. I remember a lot of discussion about how, if both buildings had had asbestos insulation completely, that they would have survived much longer. Environmental regs were applied during construction, leaving top floors protected less.
That is probably with normal exposure. Do you remember the clouds of crap covering everything after 9/11?
I will never forget the scenes of people running from that incredible cloud of dust & debris following them down the street.
I suspect this is more than "normal" exposure. OTOH, I wonder who the lawsuit is against? If it against any muslim, give her family his whole worth and sell him into slavery to pay them more.
If it is against someone in the US with "deep pockets", the family is dishonoring all of us by trying to cash in on a casualty of war.
Everyone thought I was peculiar when I wore a respirator in that area for MONTHS following the terrorist attacks. Something about the air was funky and I knew it then as surely as I know it now. I learned a valuable lesson to always follow my gut instinct.
~ Blue Jays ~
The EPA came out with an announcement within a couple of days that the air was safe. Schools within a few blocks of the WTC were re-opened, families returned to their apartments, kids from midwest church groups were sent into the area without respirators volunteering to clean apartments.
The government and business leaders were more concerned about economic collapse then they were about long-term effects on health. The only people who should have been in that area were those equipped with Scott AirPak type oxygen systems. The idea that innocent people were tricked into returning with "safe" reports of air quality is disgusting.
My first visit to the area wasn't until the third week of October 2001 and there was still a distinct metallic flavor to the air that settled in the back of ones' throat if you didn't continually wear a mask. It forced people to drink absurd amounts of water to wash it away. God only knows what that was. Glad I endured the laughs of coworkers and kept that mask/respirator firmly affixed to my face.
~ Blue Jays ~
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
The "tip off" for a lot of people was when cars covered with dust were deemed condemned (or whatever the equiv. is for cars). A bunch of residents, parents of kids, etc. did get independent testing the second month and the toxins were off the charts in some locations.
In truth, nobody knows what really went into the "toxin soup" people were breathing or its long term effects.
See the link in post 9. Ask freeper alice_in_bubbaland. She has info on that.
There is no such thing as "normal exposure" to asbestos.
It is interesting that the lawsuits appear to have been filed by workers at the site, after the great majority of the dust had settled. The people running down the street on 9/11, who were presumably exposed to very high levels, were just bystanders. Certainly the morgue worker in the story would not have been exposed to truly massive levels, nothing like that of workers in shipyards during WWII, for instance.
Interestingly, one explanation for the quick collapse of the towers is that, as I understand it, one of the towers contained no asbestos fire protection material, and the other switched to another material part way up. It is generally agreed that asbestos is the most effective way to protect structural steel against high temperatures.
IOW, the towers quite likely might have stood longer and more people have escaped if asbestos had been used throughout.
Oh, how very sad.
Prayers for the family.
>>>Certainly the morgue worker in the story would not have been exposed to truly massive levels,
What? She worked at the site too.
Prayers from TX
CBS) BRONX Hundreds of paramedics, EMT's and firefighters came to pay their respects to Deborah Reeve, an EMT for 17 years, Deborah spent her life giving to others until the very end.
Patrick Bahnken, President of the Uniformed EMT's and Paramedics, spoke to CBS 2 saying, "I think that we have lost a tremendous paramedic, a wonderful wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend. Deborah Reeve is an angel on earth, now she is an angel in heaven."
(snip)
Lt. Susan Gonzalez, a friend of Deborah's said, "What's scary about that is that we all spent time down there. After Felix passed away, now Debbie and numerous others, we are all frightened as to who is next. But it won't stop us from doing what our job is, service to the city is to take care of the people first."
Lt. Gonzalez, a mother herself, spoke with Deborah about her fears after her friend was diagnosed with lung cancer two years ago this month. "First and foremost her children, her daughter growing up now without a mother, it's devastating."
How sad.
Prayers sent.
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