Q&A: Health of 9/11 First Responders 20 Years Later

The Scientist spoke with Rachel Zeig-Owens, the director of epidemiology for the World Trade Center Health Program, about what scientists have learned after two decades of studying illness and disease among survivors.

Written byAmanda Heidt

| 5 min read

Two emergency responders stand near a barricade on a street in New York

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This Saturday (September 11) marks the 20th anniversary of the coordinated terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of almost 3,000 people in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. On the morning of 9/11, several thousand first responders—police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians—arrived at the wreckage of the World Trade Center in New York City, where they encountered plumes of toxic dust, fires that burned unabated for months, unstable wreckage, and otherwise dangerous working conditions.

Almost immediately after the attacks, many first responders began to report health issues, including the so-called World Trade Center cough. And in the two decades since, scientists have documented a number of diseases and mental health disorders among those who helped in rescue and cleanup efforts in the months that followed. According to a recent report released by the Fire Department of the City of New York’s World Trade Center (WTC) ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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