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Thursday, March 28, 2024

9/11 Memorial Glade Dedicated to Ongoing Loss of Life from Health Impacts of Attacks

Many who responded to the attack on 9/11 never thought about themselves or the consequences of running toward the devastated sites. People like David LeValley, an FBI special agent who normally worked on drug trafficking, money laundering and combating violent transnational gangs, spent several weeks at the World Trade Center. He died May 26, 2018, as the result of illness brought on by toxins at the site of the World Trade Center.

On Thursday his service, and the service of many others who died from the toxins at the sites, was recognized formally with the unveiling of the 9/11 Memorial Glade at the World Trade Center in New York. The Glade honors all of the response, recovery, and rescue responders who came to sites in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania to help.

According to Handel Architects, the design creates a new pathway through a beautiful, tranquil space that roughly mirrors the location of the main ramp used by the rescue and recovery workers through their herculean nine-month effort. Along the path, six large stone elements break the surface of the plaza and push their way up and out of the ground. They flank the path and define it, forming a series of gateways. These stones are rough and worn, and their angle suggests a forceful resistance. The path ends near the Survivor Tree, a beloved symbol of New York’s resilience.

9/11 Memorial Glade Dedicated to Ongoing Loss of Life from Health Impacts of Attacks Homeland Security Today
First responders at the dedication of the 911 Memorial Glade on May 30 in New York Monika Graff911 Memorial Museum

Exposure to the toxins impacted thousands of people both in the city and those who were detailed to assist in response. Many worked for weeks without the proper equipment to protect them from debris and toxins in the air.

After the Arlington County Fire completed their rescue mission and it turned into a recovery mission, and the Bureau took the lead in that effort, a lot of the debris that was right where the plane had hit was moved out to the north parking lot by large dump trucks. And we sifted through the material …obviously, there’s dust. But again, I didn’t think that at the time — I wasn’t focused on, ‘Oh, this is dusty and it’s making me sneeze,’ or, ‘It’s making me cough.’ It was, ‘This is a very important job and I need to pay attention to what I’m doing,'” said FBI Special Agent Kara Sidener, who was detailed to response at the Pentagon.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information has documented the impact of health-related illnesses on firefighters and other first responders, including paramedics, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and police. Recently, the impacts on non-emergency recovery workers who responded to the World Trade Center (WTC) site of the 9/11 have also been documented. “In the 16 years following 9/11, Ground Zero recovery workers have been plagued by a range of long-term physical impacts, including musculoskeletal injuries, repetitive motion injuries, gait deterioration, and respiratory disorders. Psychosocial issues include post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, insomnia, support-system fatigue, and addictive and risk-taking behaviors.”

“I think because we do this job, as all FBI employees do, to think of others before us. We’re serving a mission, we’re protecting the American people, that we don’t necessarily think that we have to protect ourselves, too. And that’s vitally important because if we’re not here to do the job, then the job’s not going to get done,” Sidener continued.

In response to the illnesses contracted by responders, Congress created the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (“VCF”) to provide compensation for any individual (or a personal representative of a deceased individual) who suffered physical harm or was killed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of Sept. 11, 2001, or the debris-removal efforts that took place in the immediate aftermath of those crashes.

WATCH: 9/11 Responders Encouraged to Register for Health Benefits as ‘We’ve Lost Too Many’

 

The fund was reinstated on Jan. 2, 2011, as part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 and again in 2015 through December 2020. More than 50,000 people have applied for funding under the VCF and over $5.1 billion in benefits have been paid.

In February the Special Master of the fund, Rupa Bhattacharyya, determined that the funds remaining would not be sufficient for all the claims and would need to be renewed by Congress in 2020.

https://www.hstoday.us/federal-pages/doj/fbi/atlanta-fbi-special-agent-in-charge-levalley-dies/

9/11 Memorial Glade Dedicated to Ongoing Loss of Life from Health Impacts of Attacks Homeland Security Today
Kristina Tanasichuk
Kristina Tanasichuk is Executive Editor of Homeland Security Today and CEO of the Government Technology & Services Coalition. She founded GTSC to advance communication and collaboration between the public and private sector in defense of our homeland.  A leader in homeland security public private partnership, critical infrastructure protection, cyber security, STEM, innovation, commercialization and much more, she brings to HSToday decades of experience and expertise in the intersection of the public and private sectors in support of our homeland's security. Tanasichuk worked for Chairman Tom Bliley on electric utility restructuring for the House Commerce Committee, represented municipal electric utilities sorting out deregulation, the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C. and ran the largest homeland security conference and trade show in the country. Immediately after 9/11 she represented public works departments In homeland security and emergency management. She is also the president and founder of Women in Homeland Security and served as president of InfraGard of the National Capital Region, a member of the Fairfax County Law Enforcement Foundation, the U.S. Coast Guard Enlisted Memorial Foundation and on the Board of USCG Mutual Assistance. She has an MPA from George Mason University and has attended the FBI and DEA Citizens Academies and the Marine Corps Executive Leadership Program. Most recently she was awarded the "Above & Beyond Award" by the Intelligence & Law Enforcement Training Seminar (INLETS) and was awarded Small Business Person of the Year by AFCEA International. Tanasichuk brings a new vision and in-depth knowledge of the federal homeland and national security apparatus to the media platform.
Kristina Tanasichuk
Kristina Tanasichuk
Kristina Tanasichuk is Executive Editor of Homeland Security Today and CEO of the Government Technology & Services Coalition. She founded GTSC to advance communication and collaboration between the public and private sector in defense of our homeland.  A leader in homeland security public private partnership, critical infrastructure protection, cyber security, STEM, innovation, commercialization and much more, she brings to HSToday decades of experience and expertise in the intersection of the public and private sectors in support of our homeland's security. Tanasichuk worked for Chairman Tom Bliley on electric utility restructuring for the House Commerce Committee, represented municipal electric utilities sorting out deregulation, the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C. and ran the largest homeland security conference and trade show in the country. Immediately after 9/11 she represented public works departments In homeland security and emergency management. She is also the president and founder of Women in Homeland Security and served as president of InfraGard of the National Capital Region, a member of the Fairfax County Law Enforcement Foundation, the U.S. Coast Guard Enlisted Memorial Foundation and on the Board of USCG Mutual Assistance. She has an MPA from George Mason University and has attended the FBI and DEA Citizens Academies and the Marine Corps Executive Leadership Program. Most recently she was awarded the "Above & Beyond Award" by the Intelligence & Law Enforcement Training Seminar (INLETS) and was awarded Small Business Person of the Year by AFCEA International. Tanasichuk brings a new vision and in-depth knowledge of the federal homeland and national security apparatus to the media platform.

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