Researchers from the New York University School of Medicine and the State Department of Health this month began a year-long, 10,000-apartment study of the impact of the collapse of the Twin Towers on the health of Downtown residents. Surveys were mailed to tenants in the Independence Plaza (IPN) complex. Residents of Gateway Plaza, Southbridge Towers and other large residential buildings Downtown and in other parts of the city will also be included, followed by pulmonary exams for a sample of respondents.

"We will identify people who had previous asthma conditions, people who have suffered new onset symptoms, and people who have remained asymptomatic," said Dr. Joan Reibman, a professor at NYU and the medical school’s principle investigator for the study. "We will then try to screen some of those people with breathing studies and other tests and with more detailed questionnaires."

The assessments of Downtown residents will be compared with evaluations of those who live further way from the World Trade Center site. The study will examine whether there are more people with symptoms among those who were exposed to World Trade Center dust, and whether the symptoms can be correlated with abnormalities in breathing studies, Reibman said.

"No doubt there are some people who had symptoms that have gone away, or will go away, but the question is, are there some people for whom these problems will persist?" she said.

Health officials will visit each building to answer questions about the survey and to urge all residents to respond, whether or not they’ve suffered from health problems.

So far the study has received funding for one year, but Reibman said she hoped to extend the study over a longer period.

Investigators said they will share their findings as soon as they are available, probably next year, she said.
"As we find any bit of information that we feel is solid, we will let the community know and we will hold educational forums."