Pressure Increases to Widen Definition of 9/11 Victims

Shannon Weidemann

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A presidential candidate, two U.S. Representatives from New York, and other activists are pressing the Medical Examiner's office and the city of New York to widen the defintion of those affected by the World Trade Center attacks. A woman that died five months after the September 11th was just added to the official victims' list, which allows her family to receive a death benefit from the Victim Compensation Fund.

Senator Hillary Clinton, who is campaigning for President, applauded the decision of the Medical Examiner's office and asked them to review more cases of people living near the World Trade Center and workers that spent time cleaning the site and working at the landfill where debris was taken.

"Your recent decision to include Felicia Dunn-Jones in the official list of 9/11 victims is an important step toward acknowledging and coming to terms with the devastating and growing health impact," Clinton said in a letter to Hirsch.

U.S. Reps. Vito Fossella, a Republican, and Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat, also urged Hirsch to review other cases of people who had fallen ill since the September 11 attacks.

"If the toxins at Ground Zero could be responsible for the death of Felicia Dunn-Jones, who was trapped in the dust cloud for one day, think about the impact the toxins must have had on rescue and recovery workers who toiled at the site for months," Maloney said in a statement.

Currently Congess is waiting on the President to approve $50 Million for victims affected by World Trade Center Illness.