World Trade Center Health Program
On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists associated with the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets in a series of suicide attacks on the United States, killing 2,996 people and injuring more than 6,000 others. Hijackers flew planes into two main towers of the World Trade Center, resulting in the collapse of three buildings of the World Trade Center complex, and the Pentagon, resulting in the partial destruction of the western side in the building. The resulting dust cloud due to the collapse of the World Trade Center covered Manhattan for days and contained thousands of tons of toxic debris, including asbestos and other known carcinogens. Another hijacked plane crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania following an attempt by the passengers to retake control of the plane. No one in the airliners survived.
As of 2011, approximately 18,000 people have received medical treatment for illnesses related to toxic dust from the World Trade Center site. A study of rescue workers released in April 2010 found that all those studied had impaired lung functions, and that 30–40% were reporting little or no improvement in persistent symptoms that started within the first year of the attack. In 2011 a major research study showed significant long term medical and psychological effects among first responders to the World Trade Center site. These effects include elevated levels of asthma, sinusitis, Gastroesophageal reflux disease and posttraumatic stress disorder.
David N. Kelley
David N. Kelley (born December 1, 1959) is an American attorney and a former United States Attorney and Deputy U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). He was also a co-chair of the United States Justice Department’s nationwide investigation into the September 11 attacks.
Kelley, who served as chief of the organized crime and terrorism unit in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the SDNY, is noted for leading the investigations of the 2000 millennium attack plots and the October 2000 attack on the USS "Cole" in Yemen, and for prosecuting Ramzi Yousef for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He was named Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia acting as co-lead prosecutor of John Walker Lindh. Kelley is also noted for obtaining convictions of WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers in his prosecution for accounting fraud and Martha Stewart in the ImClone stock trading case.
Kelley was raised in East Hampton, NY, and has lived in the New York metropolitan area for most of his life. He earned his undergraduate degree from The College of William & Mary and law degree in 1986 from New York Law School. Kelley was a policeman and a fireman while attending law school. After leaving the U.S. Attorney's office in 2005, Kelley joined Wall Street law firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel as a partner in its litigation and corporate investigations practice. He is currently a partner and co-leader in the White Collar and Securities Litigation practice group at Dechert.