Experts: Kids' Health Study Needed

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Experts: Kids' Health Study Needed

By s

Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, February 20, 2002; 12:40 PM

NEW YORK -- Researchers are charting the health of firefighters and iron

workers who toiled at the World Trade Center site. They are studying women

who were pregnant at the time of the attacks, and even examining the

search-and-rescue dogs that worked at ground zero.

But no one is conducting a systematic study of children who were near the

trade center when the twin towers collapsed - and some experts say time is

running out to begin such research.

" It's clear that already we've missed acute short-term events, " said Dr.

Philip Landrigan, director of the Center for Children's Health and the

Environment at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is seeking funding for tracking programs that

would include children.

The head of the American Academy of Pediatrics said children may have been

exposed to asbestos, mercury and lead.

" Children's developing systems are more vulnerable to these toxic substances

than are those of adults, " said Dr. Louis Z. , president of the

academy and a professor of pediatrics at Columbia University.

The risk of asthma and other respiratory problems is of particular concern.

Landrigan noted that children breathe in more dust and inhale more air per

pound than do adults; their lungs and other organs are more sensitive than

those of adults; and they have a longer life in which to develop diseases.

" To the best of my knowledge, " Landrigan said, " there has been no

coordinated effort to create a registry of children who were in lower

Manhattan on the morning of 9-11 and in the subsequent weeks - and by the

same token no coordinated effort to follow those children up. "

Dr. Jay Dolitsky, a pediatric ear, nose and throat specialist at the New

York Eye and Ear Infirmary, said he has seen an increase in upper

respiratory infections since Sept. 11.

But without a scientific study, Dolitsky said, it is impossible to know

whether those infections can be traced to the terrorist attack or were part

of the usual back-to-school cold season.

A study might well show no long-term health effects, said another New York

pediatrician, Dr. Bonita lin. " But until the information is objectively

obtained and evaluated, no one will ever know. "

Some parents in lower Manhattan say they are still not sure whether it is

safe to let their children play outside.

Elissa Krauss worries about pollutants that might linger in dirt and sand.

On Sept. 11, she fled through a cloud of white dust with her 3½-year-old

daughter as the twin towers collapsed a couple of blocks away.

" I would like to know that the medical authorities are figuring out a way to

monitor our children's health, " Krauss said.

© 2002 The Associated Press