BY Helen Kennedy
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, April 7th 2010

The so-called “World Trade Center Cough” appears to be permanent.

A sweeping new study of firefighters and EMTs workers who inhaled toxic Ground Zero dust found that their lungs have unexpectedly failed to recover since the 2001 disaster.

“We demonstrated dramatic decline in lung function, mostly in the first six months after 9/11, and these declines persisted with little or no meaningful recovery over the next six-and-a-half years,” said Dr. David Prezant, a professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx.

The study will appear Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Lung problems from smoke inhalation in firefighters is usually temporary, and the study authors expected the damage they observed right after 9/11 to slowly disappear.

“Honestly, I thought we would see some recovery,” said lead author Dr. Thomas Aldrich, a pulmonologist at Montefiore Medical Center.

“I thought we’d see a slow return to the normal baseline in the absence of continuing exposure. But that generally did not happen. It’s discouraging.”

The study evaluated 92% of the 13,954 firefighters and EMS workers who were at the site between September 11 and September 24, 2001, testing their lung capacity every 12 to 18 months.

It found that 13% of firefighters and 22% of EMS workers still had impaired lung function seven years down the road.

The worst effected were those who arrived at the Trade Center on the morning of 9/11.

The cloud over Ground Zero – the vaporized remains of two 110-story towers – is estimated to have contained between one and two million tons of toxic dust, including asbestos, glass, cement and lead.

It was too thick to see through. “Perhaps there was something different about the dust itself, but more than likely it was the sheer volume,” Aldrich said.

“Breathing that stuff is clearly likely to be pretty damaging.”

Those who are still suffering hailed the report. “For eight years, we’ve been crying that we were sick and dying.

We are vindicated by the New England Journal of Medicine,” said John Feal, a construction worker who worked on “the pile” and later became a fierce advocate for 9/11 health care issues.

He noted that while the study looked at only firefighters and EMTs, there were 40,000 people breathing bad air at the site when police officers, construction workers and other volunteers are counted.

“This is more proof that we need long term health care solutions for 9/11 responders,” Feal said. “Here we are, eight-and-a-half years later. We’re in bad shape. Many of us have died,” said ex-firefighter Kenny Specht, who quit Ladder 289 in Queens with severe gastrointestinal problems followed by thyroid cancer.

“I hope they see this study and see that we’re not crying wolf and there is indeed a need for longer medical monitoring,” Specht said. Forty-one of the WTC firefighters had died before the lung study ended in 2008.

The James Zadroga bill, which would provide more than $10 billion for health care for those who affected by the dust cloud, is winding its way through the House, with the next committee vote set for April 12.

“This study is another sad confirmation of what we have known for a long time: Ground Zero toxins made responders sick and many are not getting any better. The good news is we are finally moving a permanent program to fund health care for responders and residents exposed and injured by these toxins,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Queens), a sponsor of the bill.

Last month, a federal judge stunned legal observers when he rejected a proposed settlement to nearly 10,000 lawsuits that would have given 911 responders $575 million. Judge Alvin Hellerstein said it wasn’t enough, when legal fees and complex payout formulas were considered.

A new hearing is set for Monday.