Senators: Federal 9/11 health program adds cancer

NEW YORK (AP) - Two New York senators say the federal government will include about 50 types of cancer on the list of World Trade Center-related illnesses that will be covered by a Sept. 11 health program.

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer issued a statement on the change Monday.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health said last June that it favored expanding the $4.3 billion health program to include cancer.

Questions about whether the dust caused cancer was one of the reasons why Congress did not include it in the initial list of covered illnesses.

But an advisory panel said it was plausible that first responders and others who were exposed to the toxic dust might get cancer.