CDC launches study of 9/11 childhood survivors' long-term health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's World Trade Center Health Program is launching a new initiative to study the long-term health effects on people who were children or in utero during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The program announced it will seek applications to establish a Youth Research Coordinating Center and identify a Youth Research Cohort, addressing a long-recognized gap in research that has primarily focused on first responders and adult survivors. The initiative targets individuals who were 21 years old or younger, or in utero, and lived below 14th Street in Manhattan or anywhere in Brooklyn on and after September 11, 2001. An estimated 400,000 people were exposed to toxic contaminants from the attacks, including more than 40,000 children. The new research cohort does not yet exist, and it is not known how many people the CDC hopes to enroll, how much funding is available, or when a formal request for proposals will be issued. The collapse of the World Trade Center released a massive cloud of dust and debris containing pulverized concrete, glass fibers, asbestos, and other pollutants.