WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH) has introduced S. 1741, the Disaster Area Health and Environment Monitoring Act of 2005, as an amendment to the port security bill. The amendment authorizes the president, if he determines that substances of concern have been released in a federally declared disaster area, to activate a program in a federal partnership with appropriate medical institutions for the protection, assessment, monitoring and study of the health and safety of individuals. The amendment also directs federal agencies to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study and report on disaster area health protection and monitoring.

Many of the Ground Zero first responders have suffered from a variety of long-term respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia and asthma. This group includes Ohio Task Force One, one of 28 federal Urban Search and Rescue teams deployed to New York City following the attacks. Currently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency does not hold the authority to conduct the necessary long-term monitoring of health impacts following environmental exposures in the wake of a disaster.

“This issue first came to my attention during a series of hearings in 2002, when my colleagues and I learned of the severe health problems facing the thousands of workers and volunteers who heroically responded to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center,” Sen. Voinovich said. “It is extremely important that we take care of these individuals who bravely gave of themselves to help those in need. Whether people will volunteer to be first responders in the future depends on how the first responders on 9/11 and other disaster areas are treated. We must take care of our heroes.”

A five-year study conducted by Mount Sinai Medical Center of Ground Zero first responders confirmed suspicions about the effects of having worked at the World Trade Center (WTC) site. According to the findings, almost 70 percent of WTC responders had a new or substantially worsened respiratory symptom following their work at the WTC. Among the responders who were asymptomatic before 9/11, 61 percent developed respiratory symptoms while working at the WTC.

Ohio Task Force One, comprised of Miami Valley-area fire and rescue personnel, was one of the first to respond to the WTC. Sen. Voinovich met with the group in 2003 to discuss their progress in receiving reimbursement from FEMA for 9/11-related health care expenses. After the meeting, he announced a $12 million national program to provide free medical screenings to eligible fire and rescue personnel and other first responders who worked at the WTC following the 9/11 attacks.

The Senate passed this bill by Unanimous Consent in the 108th Congress, but it failed to move through the House.

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