page_title: World Trade Center Health Program
hierarchical_section_title: World Trade Center Health Program
caption_attribution_description: English: "The world changed today. What I say or do is very minor compared to the significance of what happened to our country today when it was attacked." So said Expedition 3 Commander Frank L. Culbertson, upon learning of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. This image is one of a series taken that day of metropolitan New York City by the International Space Station's Expedition 3 crew that shows a plume of smoke rising from the Manhattan skyline. Upon further reflection, Commander Culbertson said, "It's horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point. The dichotomy of being on a spacecraft dedicated to improving life on the earth and watching life being destroyed by such willful, terrible acts is jolting to the psyche, no matter who you are."
context_page_description: The World Trade Center Health Program provides medical benefits to specific groups of individuals affected by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. The WTC Health Program was established by Title I of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, P.L. 111-347, which amended the Public Health Service Act. The United States Congress passed the bill in December 2010 and United States President Barack Obama signed it into law on January 2, 2011. The Zadroga Act required the WTC Health Program to begin administering medical benefits on July 1, 2011. On December 18, 2015, the Zadroga Act was reauthorized to provide medical benefits to affected individuals until 2090. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, administers the program. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is component of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
context_section_description: The World Trade Center Health Program (WTC Health Program) provides medical benefits to specific groups of individuals affected by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. The WTC Health Program was established by Title I of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (Zadroga Act), P.L. 111-347, which amended the Public Health Service Act. The United States Congress passed the bill in December 2010 and United States President Barack Obama signed it into law on January 2, 2011. The Zadroga Act required the WTC Health Program to begin administering medical benefits on July 1, 2011. On December 18, 2015, the Zadroga Act was reauthorized to provide medical benefits to affected individuals until 2090. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, administers the program. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is component of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
  The collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, (9/11) caused physical hazards as well as massive dust cloud, consisting of pulverized building materials, electronic equipment, and furniture to blanket the World Trade Center site and the surrounding area. Many 9/11 responders, local workers, and resident survivors have since developed respiratory diseases, digestive disorders, cancers, or mental health disorders as a result of these toxic exposures. The WTC Health Program provides screening and treatment for a specific list of 9/11-related conditions.
caption: International Space Station image taken on September 11, 2001 showing the smoke plume rising from lower Manhattan and extending over Brooklyn (Expedition 3 crew)
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