Troy Rosasco, Partner, Turley, Redmond, Rosasco & Rosasco, LLP, and Daniel J Hansen, Partner, Turley, Hansen & Partners, said the recommendation made by the World Trade Center Health Program Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (WTCHP STAC) to cover cancer under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 should be accepted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at the upcoming public hearing on March 28, 2012. They said the inclusion of cancer would allow those stricken with the disease to obtain healthcare and collect their fair share of the $2.775 billion 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF).

If the committee recommendation is accepted by NIOSH, then those first responders who were diagnosed with certain cancers — but were not eligible to date under the Zadroga Act — may be eligible to collect from the VCF. When Sheila Birnbaum, Special Master, 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, reopened the fund on October 3, 2011, to first responders and survivors who worked in the Ground Zero area between September 11, 2011 and May 30, 2002, she specified that only those illnesses accepted by NIOSH would be accepted by the VCF for compensation claims.

Three Congressional members from New York — Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler and Peter King —had urged NIOSH to include cancer on the list of diseases to be covered under the VCF based on a study performed by the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) and published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet which links exposure to toxins at the Ground Zero site to cancer.

“We urge NIOSH to include cancer to be covered under the Zadroga Act,” Mr. Rosasco said. “Many of those who were diagnosed with cancer after working at the Ground Zero site have since passed, and many more are still suffering today. It is our hope that the healthcare they need is not too late for the survivors.”

“Cancer should definitely be included under the Zadroga Act,” Mr. Hansen said. “There is now credible scientific evidence from the New York Fire Department that was published in a very prominent peer-reviewed medical journal which showed that the cancer these first responders were diagnosed with was the result of working at the World Trade Center site. There is no reason why Dr. Howard should ignore these findings.”

For more information, call 1 (855) WTC-INFO or visit www.zadrogaclaimsinfo.com.