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Asbestos and The World Trade Center Disaster

Most people will forever remember what they were doing when the World Trade Center was struck by airplanes. The World Trade Center catastrophe is the "where were you when Kennedy was shot" question of today, and likely for as many years to come. Where were you when the airplanes flew into the World Trade Center?

September 11, 2001 is not a date that many will ever forget. Many sat riveted to their televisions watching as the horrors unfolded. 9/11 is a date that will go down in history, similarly to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. However, for tens of thousands of people, there are very real dangers that the World Trade Center catastrophe invoked - health issues from the dust and debris.

The dust and debris from the World Trade Center posed some potential health hazards to the people who were exposed during the burning and collapse of the twin towers. The dust from the World Trade Center included:

• Materials that made up the World Trade Center buildings
• The aircrafts that struck the buildings.

The World Trade Center dust poses another very real threat to people who were exposed - to the dust from being nearby, to the survivors, to those that helped in the clean up. Asbestos was present in the buildings, therefore the dust from the collapse of the buildings likely contained asbestos particles. For more information about these issues, please read The World Trade Center - Asbestos use in Construction and The World Trade Center - Cleanup.

Breathing in asbestos fibers can cause mesothelioma cancer. Mesothelioma is considered to be a rare cancer - one that accounts for three per cent of annual cancer-deaths each year. There are approximately 2,000 new cases of Mesothelioma reported each year. The biggest issue with mesothelioma is that it takes anywhere from 15 to 50 years to present as cancer in a patient. The only known cause for mesothelioma cancer is asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs, abdomen or heart. For more information about Mesothelioma, please see Mesothelioma Overview.

However, it also needs to be said that not everyone who was exposed to asbestos will be diagnosed with an asbestos exposure related disease, such as mesothelioma. On the other hand, even people with very little asbestos exposure can contract mesothelioma cancer. There is no guaranteed safe level of exposure and regardless whether your exposure was limited or extreme, there is no telling the outcome of your future health.

Asbestos fibers are very thin and very durable. These fibers are quite easily inhaled and can get lodged in the lining of the lungs, heart or abdomen. The fibers cause inflammation and can, eventually, cause cancer. The fibers are so durable that when they are lodged in the lining, your body can do little to break them down or get rid of them.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding asbestos and you will find that many people who have mesothelioma are contacting mesothelioma lawyers to help them with their case. While it is not impossible, most of the people who were exposed to the burning and collapse of the World Trade Center will not yet be diagnosed with mesothelioma. However, the risk of contracting this horrible and deadly cancer is significant for the people who were ultimately exposed. (However, not everyone who was exposed will contract this cancer.)

The concept of the World Trade Center was conceived in 1960 by the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Development association. They wanted to revitalize the low-rate street which was dominated by electronic stores. David Rockefeller, the founder of the association, along with his brother pushed hard for the revitalization project, insisting that it would benefit all of New York.

Plans to build the center were started in 1962, and construction began in 1966. To create the site for the World Trade Center, which took up 16 acres of land, five streets were closed and 164 buildings were demolished. The north tower was opened in December of 1970, and the south tower was open in January of 1972. At the time they were built, they were the tallest buildings, until the Sears Tower was completed in 1973. At the time of their destruction, they were the fifth and sixth tallest buildings in the world. Other than the two tall towers, a hotel and four smaller buildings, built around a central plaza, was the complete complex. There was a mall, below the plaza, which was the largest shopping mall in lower Manhattan.

Each day, 50,000 people worked at the World Trade Center and approximately 200,000 visited or passed through it each day. The complex of the World Trade Center was so large that it had its very own Zip Code - 10048.

While the tragedy of the World Trade Center is 'over' for many people, it is still very real for thousands who lived near the destruction and for those who lost loved ones during the destruction. The years to come will show whether the asbestos in the buildings have continued to cause further damages to those exposed.

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