Major Class Action Lawsuit--For Ground Zero Cleanup Workers Afflicted With 'WTC Toxic Diseases'

When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hit with Ground Zero class action lawsuit in 2004, people could not believe the magnitude of toxic diseases afflicting about 30,000 to 40,000 people, workers and residents in Brooklyn and lower Manhattan, who volunteered at Ground Zero in the weeks following the attack of September 11, 2001 in New York City

People who worked in the aftermath of 9/11 were assured that the air was safe to breathe. However, certified analyses of the particulate matter that was removed from the area and volunteers gear revealed high levels of several different carcinogens beyond the EPA-recommended levels, an unprecedented case due to the many deadly poisons to which volunteers and workers were exposed.

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001 a series of coordinated suicide terrorist attacks occurred upon the United States, with 19 men affiliated with al-Qaeda, a Sunni Islamist organization, hijacking 4 commercial passenger jet airliners, two of them crashed into each tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, towers that collapsed within 2 hours.

Along with the Twin Towers of the WTC, another 7 buildings at the World Trade Center, the Marriott Hotel and 4 subway stations in the area were severely damaged or destroyed, rounding the number to a total of 25 damaged buildings on Manhattan Island. After the attack, the Environmental Protection Agency improperly let thousands of people return to their businesses and homes after the WTC collapsed.

However, another 8 buildings, including the Deutsche Bank Building had to be demolished due to the uninhabitable, toxic conditions inside the office tower. Thousands of tons of toxic debris included asbestos, lead, and mercury, were accompanied by unprecedented levels of dioxin and PAHs resulting from the fires of the Twin Towers, which burned for 3 months.

Later, Ground Zero Cleanup Workers and rescue and recovery volunteers began with debilitating illnesses, that lead to the death of NYPD officer James Zadroga. Toxic diseases began to reach some residents of lower Manhattan and Chinatown, who sued the EPA on March 10, 2004 after have been exposed to hazardous substances in the interior of their schools, residences, and work places for a long time.

The class action lawsuit was filed by the law firm of Berger & Montague in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, accusing the EPA of making misleading statements about air quality after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The EPA said that thousands of respirators were provided for workers and test were performed on thousands of homes in lower Manhattan.

Another class action lawsuit was announced on September 10, 2004 by Groner, Edelman, & Napoli, Bern against owners, managers, controllers and leasers of the World Trade Center on behalf of Ground Zero cleanup workers and other people afflicted by toxic. It was not until February 3, 2006, when a US District Court Judge ruled that the lawsuit can proceed because EPA violated the plaintiffs' Fifth Amendment Constitutional right to be free from bodily harm, making misleading statements regarding the safety of the air quality.