Doctors working for the WTC Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program are investigating the relationship between 9/11 rescue and recovery work and thyroid cancer. In a February 2009 court report, 51 cases of the cancer were claimed among the 10,000 cops, firefighters, hard hats and other plaintiffs suing the city.
ACSH s Jeff Stier urges skepticism. This is not a scientific look at the issue lawyers are simply preparing their plaintiffs for the hearings that will decide how much money is allotted based on the most recent settlement.
This correlation is completely unscientific. Anyone can make any health claims, and in this case, the media will misconstrue the evidence to falsely report an increased risk of thyroid cancer, adds ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan.
All other relevant risk factors must be assessed prior to establishing a connection between 9/11 rescue workers and thyroid cancer. Doctors may find that cops have a slightly elevated risk of a certain disease compared to the general population, but they may have a higher incidence of other risk factors as well. Therefore, the higher rate of cancer may be due to a poor prior medical history and have no correlation with Ground Zero it is scientific sleight of hand, explains Stier. This litigation environment is not the place that science should be conducted.
