Health impact of toxic 9/11 dust cloud continues 20 years on

When the Twin Towers collapsed on September 11 2001 a massive cloud of toxic dust was thrown into the air. In the months following the attack, an estimated half a million people were exposed to the concrete, glass and asbestos around the World Trade Center site. Two decades on from 9/11, more than 111,000 people receive free medical care from the World Trade Center Health program. Director of the program, Dr. Michael Crane, explains that the majority of ailments are linked to the respiratory tract and digestive tract. “Every single entity of the upper airway could become irritated” he says.