Smoke gets in your eyes

 by Bill Ponton

In a recent article, 9/11 and our fear of environmental poisoning, I had stated that mortality studies do not show that the 9/11-exposed population has higher mortality when compared to New York or U.S. populations. However, another recent American Thinker article, The Smoke of September 11, pointed out that nearly 48,500 people have been diagnosed with 9/11-linked cancers due to exposure to the dust and toxins at Ground Zero. To attach significance to this number, one must show that as a percentage of the total 9/11-exposed population, it is different from the cancer diagnosis rate in the general population. Moreover, it would be helpful to understand the types of cancer diagnoses that CDC certified as 9/11-linked and their percentage of the total. That information is available on page 22 of the World Trade Center Health Program External Quarterly Program Summary. I have summarized the breakdown in the following pie chart.

Something is odd about the breakdown of cancer types. One would have expected that lung or bronchial cancer would predominate, but it comprises only 2% of the total. With a toxic dust cloud, the primary route of exposure would be inhalation, which might possibly result in greater prevalence of lung or bronchial cancer than in the general population.

The predominant WTC CDC certified cancer at 45% of total is non-melanoma skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancer is usually associated with exposure to the sun’s UV rays. It is commonly diagnosed in individuals who are over 50. In a recent visit to a dermatologist, I was diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer. The dermatologist however expressed no alarm and reported that all her older patients had it.

The New York City Department of Health estimates more than 91,000 responders were exposed at Ground Zero and related locations. The World Trade Center Health Program External Quarterly Program Summary stated that there were 11,900 WTC CDC certified non-melanoma skin cancer incidents among responders, or a 13% prevalence amongst the responder population. Moreover, a published study of WTC responders found that their average age on September 11, 2001, was 37.8 years. Adding 25 years gives an estimated current age of 62.8 years.

Non-melanoma skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma) is generally excluded from the national cancer registries used to calculate the American Cancer Society’s lifetime cancer probabilities. For comparison with the WTC responder cohort, the alternative is the Olmsted County, Minnesota study of skin cancer incidence during 2000–2010. Based on the study, the cumulative incidence by age 63 for non-melanoma skin cancer is estimated to be 11.7% (see calculations below).

The WTC CDC certified non-melanoma skin cancer incidence among responders is 13%, roughly the same as the calculated incidence of 11.7% in the Olmsted County study. Moreover, the WTC CDC certified lung cancer incidence among responders of 0.80% (=800/91,000) and the American Cancer Society cumulative cancer incidence in men by age 63 of 0.97% is roughly the same. The claim that there was excess incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer or lung cancer among WTC responders does not stand up to scrutiny.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/09/smoke-gets-in-your-eyes/