Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Saturday 7 September 2019
Some 9/11

firefighters

may have higher

heart risks now

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE ever, “this risk increases
AP Chief Medical Writer over time; it doesn’t disap-
Firefighters who arrived pear.” Results of the fed-
early or spent more time at erally funded study were
the World Trade Center site published in the journal
after the 9/11 attacks seem JAMA Network Open.
to have a modestly higher It tracked the health of
risk of developing heart 9,796 male firefighters
problems than those who through 2017 — 16 years
came later or stayed less, after the collapse of the
doctors reported Friday. twin towers exposed many
The research might have to a cloud of thick dust
implications for any efforts and particles from fires that
to expand the list of health burned for days. Female
problems eligible for pay- firefighters were excluded In this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, firefighters work beneath the destroyed mullions, the vertical struts
ment from a victim com- because there were only which once faced the outer walls of the World Trade Center towers, after a terrorist attack on the
pensation fund. 25 and their heart risks may twin towers in New York.
The study has some big differ. Associated Press
limitations and can’t prove Medical records were
that dust or anything else available for years before studies found signs suggest- clude those conditions for Health and an American
about the disaster caused the attacks, so researchers ing a greater risk of heart any groups, such as fire- Heart Association spokes-
increased heart risks. It also could consider high blood problems, which are not fighters who responded woman, said 9/11 respond-
doesn’t compare the New pressure, cholesterol, smok- covered now by the pro- early. ers must stay alert for pos-
York firefighters to the gen- ing and other factors. gram that treats responders “This adds to the evidence sible problems.
eral population or to other They documented 489 or the victim compensation but it doesn’t guarantee “Everyone needs to know
responders such as para- heart problems since the fund. He said administrators coverage,” Prezant said. potential symptoms of a
medics or construction disaster, including 120 will need more information Dr. Nieca Goldberg, a car- heart attack so they can
workers. heart attacks and roughly to decide whether to in- diologist at NYU Langone get rapid care,” she said.q
But it does suggest that 300 procedures or surgeries
working at the site raised for clogged arteries. Risks California bans fur trapping
risk for some firefighters were higher among the
more than others. Those 1,600 firefighters who ar- for recreation, commerce
who arrived by noon that rived at the site by noon on
day had a 44% greater Sept. 11, 2001, and among By ADAM BEAM
chance of suffering a heart the 2,400 who worked there SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)
problem in the years since during six months or more. — California on Wednes-
the attack compared to There are good records day became the first
firefighters who came hours on arrival times but less on state to ban commercial
or days later. duration at the site, mak- fur trapping, ending the
Risk was 33% higher for ing that result less reliable. practice nearly 200 years
those who worked there Being counted as having after animals like beavers
during six or more months worked one month could and otters introduced the
versus less time. be one day during that American West to inter-
That may sound large but month or 30 days. national trade.
heart problems were fairly Judith Graber, a researcher Democratic Gov. Gavin
uncommon — only about at Rutgers School of Public Newsom said Wednes-
5% of these firefighters de- Health who has studied oth- day he had signed a bill
veloped one. er 9/11 responders, called into law making it illegal
“This is a modest increase, the research “very well to trap animals for the In this May 29, 2019 file photo, Assemblywoman Lorena
not an epidemic,” said one conducted” and said “the purposes of recreation Gonzalez, D-San Diego speaks during the Assembly session
study leader, Dr. David Pre- important thing is the ac- or to sell their fur. It is still in Sacramento, Calif. Associated Press
zant, chief medical officer cumulation of evidence” legal to trap animals for ognizable symbol of the of California, with data
of the Fire Department of suggesting increased risk. other purposes, including Old West. suggesting there have
the City of New York. How- Prezant said some other
pest control and public But in recent years, Cali- been no fur sales in the
health. fornia licenses for fur state for the past three
Before the gold rush put trappers have declined years.
California on the map, considerably. In 2018, the Meanwhile, the state has
it was fur traders who California Department issued about 500 trap-
first flocked to then far- of Fish and Wildlife said ping licenses a year for
flung Mexican territory in it sold 133 licenses, lead- pest control and other
search of the area’s plen- ing to the harvest of 1,568 uses. People who trap
tiful population of bea- animals and the sale of animals for those pur-
vers, minks and badgers. 1,241 pelts. A legislative poses are not required to
The so-called fur rush analysis of the bill noted report how many animals
made fur trappers a rec- most furs are sold outside they capture.q