NEW YORK (AP) - September 10, 2012
Democratic New York Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (KEHR'-sten JIHL'-uh-brand) and Charles Schumer and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health announced the change Monday. The institute said last June it favored expanding the $4.3 billion health program to include cancer.
Scientists say there's little research to prove exposure to toxic dust from the destroyed twin towers caused even one kind of cancer. Questions about whether dust caused cancer were a reason Congress didn't include it in the initial list of covered illnesses.
But an advisory panel said it was plausible first responders and others who were exposed to the toxic dust might get cancer.
The full list of cancers included:
Malignant neoplasms of the lip, tongue, salivary gland,
floor of mouth, gum and other mouth, tonsil, oropharynx,
hypopharynx, and other oral cavity and pharynx
Malignant neoplasm of the nasopharynx
Malignant neoplasms of the nose, nasal cavity, middle
ear, and accessory sinuses
Malignant neoplasm of the larynx
Malignant neoplasm of the esophagus
Malignant neoplasm of the stomach
Malignant neoplasm of the colon and rectum
Malignant neoplasm of the liver and intrahepatic bile
duct
Malignant neoplasms of the retroperitoneum and
peritoneum, omentum, and mesentery
6
Malignant neoplasms of the trachea; bronchus and lung;
heart, mediastinum and pleura; and other ill-defined
sites in the respiratory system and intrathoracic organs
Mesothelioma
Malignant neoplasms of the soft tissues (sarcomas)
Malignant neoplasms of the skin (melanoma and nonmelanoma),
including scrotal cancer
Malignant neoplasm of the breast
Malignant neoplasm of the ovary
Malignant neoplasm of the urinary bladder
Malignant neoplasm of the kidney
Malignant neoplasms of renal pelvis, ureter and other
urinary organs
Malignant neoplasms of the eye and orbit
Malignant neoplasm of the thyroid
Malignant neoplasms of the blood and lymphoid tissues
(including, but not limited to, lymphoma, leukemia, and
myeloma)
Childhood cancers
Rare cancers
Copyright © 2025 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
