In the New York Times:
In the first clinical study to clearly link World Trade Center dust to serious and sometimes fatal diseases, doctors have found that the number of New York City rescue and recovery workers with a rare type of lung-scarring condition soared in the first year after the trade center collapsed.
…
The nine authors of the study — including Dr. David J. Prezant, deputy chief medical officer of the Fire Department and a member of the faculty at Albert Einstein — calculated an incidence rate in the first year after the collapse of 86 per 100,000. That is more than five times higher than the 15 per 100,000 rate (an average of two to four cases per year) for Firefighter Department workers in the 15 years before the trade center collapsed.After the initial surge in disease rates after 9/11, the number of cases of sarcoidosis and similar illnesses dropped, according to the study. But it remained somewhat higher than normal for several more years, corresponding to a rate of 22 per 100,000 (with no more than four cases each year).
In all, doctors found 26 cases of sarcoidosis in the five years after 9/11, an amount surpassing the combined total for the previous 15 years. To date, none of the stricken Fire Department employees have died. Five are on permanent disability and five others are being reviewed for disability.
Update (related story): Cancer claims 9/11 cop