Hundreds Sue Over World Trade Center 9/11 Health Effects

Hundreds of people who worked on the World Trade Center cleanup have filed a class-action lawsuit against the leaseholder of the towers and those who supervised the job, alleging they did little to protect workers from dust, asbestos and other toxins in the air. The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Friday and made public Monday, was brought against Silverstein Properties and the four construction companies hired to oversee the removal of the 1.5 million tons of debris. David Worby, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he will seek billions of dollars in compensation for victims. The lawsuit also asks for the establishment of a system to track for the next 20 years all those who were exposed. [more ]

• Nearly half of the more than 1,000 screened rescue workers who responded to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks suffer from new or exacerbated respiratory, mental and other health problems, according to a government report released on Thursday. [more ]