First responders who worked on the dusty, smoldering pile of debris in the aftermath of the Twin Towers’ collapse 15 years ago have begun showing signs of debilitating nerve damage, a team of Long Island doctors has found for the first time.
The research, led by Dr. Marc Wilkenfeld at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, is the third of his investigations to link World Trade Center dust to nerve damage, but it is the first beyond his statistical studies to confirm it in a small group of patients. He plans to elaborate on his findings — published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine — during a news conference Tuesday at the hospital.