Sept. 11 victim advocate Michael Barasch warned Jersey City firefighters Wednesday of the disproportionate risk of cancer and other diseases they may face as a result of responding to ground zero, and urged them to look into the federal World Trade Center Victim Compensation Fund.
“I want to scare you,” Barasch told about a dozen firefighters gathered for a union meeting on West Side Avenue, including several who responded to “the pile.” Barasch’s law firm, Barasch & McGarry, represents 15,000 clients suffering from illnesses resulting from the attacks. He said 5,000 have cancer and 2,000 of his clients have died. “This was incredibly Democratic dust,” said Barasch, adding that the dust at the World Trade Center during the nine-month cleanup was as toxic as Drano. “It didn’t care if you were a New York firefighter, Jersey City firefighter, white, black, Christian, Jewish or Muslim.”