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Mon Sep 9, 4:36 PM ET
By Paul Simao

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Hundreds of New York firefighters and emergency personnel have developed debilitating respiratory and stress-related disorders since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, U.S. health officials reported on Monday.

A study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( news - web sites) revealed that 358 firefighters and five emergency medical service personnel involved in the WTC rescue and recovery efforts had been placed on medical leave or light duty assignments due to respiratory problems.

The majority of the sick firefighters, many of whom had not used proper safety gear, have "WTC Cough," a condition that refers to a combination of sinus congestion and irritation of the throat, lower airways and esophageal tract.

Only 48 percent of those who had serious cases of WTC cough have improved enough to return to full-time work.

Dr. David Prezant, deputy chief medical officer for the New York City Fire Department, said the findings clearly backed up the belief that many of the 11,000 firefighters involved in the WTC rescue and recovery effort had been exposed to a massive toxic dust cloud.

The destruction of the WTC twin towers produced more than 1.6 million tons of concrete, metal and other debris, prompting fears among rescue workers that dangerous gases and toxic dusts had been released into the environment.

"Large numbers are coming down with asthma or reactive airways dysfunction syndrome," said Prezant, who noted that lengthy exposure to air-borne particles could be toxic even if the particles did not contain asbestos or chemicals.

New York officials now estimate that 500 firefighters might eventually qualify for disability retirement because of chronic respiratory illnesses.

In addition to those with respiratory illnesses, another 213 firefighters and rescue workers remain on leave with stress-related problems, according to the report published by the CDC. Stress-related disorders in New York firefighters increased 17-fold in the 11 months after the attacks.

Rescue workers were not the only ones to suffer WTC-related health problems. A separate study published by the CDC on Monday suggested that hundreds of people living near the WTC site in the lower Manhattan area had experienced persistent physical problems including nose and throat irritation.

Thousands of others may have been at risk for post traumatic stress disorder, according to the study.

Anxiety and stress, a natural response to any life-threatening event, are often greater in attacks involving mass murder, experts say. An estimated 2,726 people, including 343 rescue workers, died in the WTC attack.

"We saw thousands of innocent people massacred. Now of course we're living in a state of heightened awareness of terrorism, hyper-vigilance or startled response," said Laurie Nadel, a New York City-based psychotherapist specializing in stress issues and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Nadel said she has seen a dramatic increase in the number of children who need treatment for anxiety and phobias.

As many as 200,000 New York City children may have developed psychiatric problems after Sept. 11, according to a recent study by the New York Psychiatric Institute