Early Dementia In 9/11 First Responders-- Radiation Link?

The Mystery of 9/11 and Dementia: Many first responders are experiencing alarming cognitive decline. Is their time at Ground Zero to blame?

It's an interesting story from the WaPo and of course the time at Ground Zero is to blame. And of course they blame the symptoms on all the toxins that were no doubt in the air at Ground Zero after the demolition of those towers.

But my twisted mind of course went to the known phenomenon of how radiation (typically from cancer treatment) can induce dementia and cognitive dysfunction.

So perhaps this is another sad aftermath of the nuking of the WTC-- residual radiation not only caused a large number of cancers in Ground Zero workers but also dementia.

From the article, interesting how they mention two nuclear events for the mass disasters:

Like Totaro, Luft still remembers the smell at Ground Zero — and an unsettling realization that the fallout would be ongoing. “What I knew right away was that this was something that had not been seen before,” he says. “There have been other mass disasters, like Fukushima and Chernobyl. But this was a unique combination of prolonged and complex physical and psychological exposures. So it would be totally unpredictable as to what the [long-term health] problems would be.”

 

This part is super weird

The physical stress was compounded by emotional trauma. Responders saw things no one should. Richard Roeill, a retired Nassau County firefighter and rescue swimmer who spent months sifting through the ruins, remembers searching a space under the remnants of Windows on the World, the famous restaurant that had occupied the top floor of the North Tower. Crouching below a beam, he saw a desk, a computer, a datebook — and then, a piece of fabric. “It was just slimy,” says Roeill, 59. “Almost like a greased rag. It looked like a female garment. Things like that still bother me.”

THIS MAKES NO SENSE-- HOW ON EARTH WAS THERE IDENTIFIABLE SPACE FROM THE FLOOR BENEATH THE TOP FLOOR RESTAURANT-- MUCH LESS ANYTHING INTACT LIKE A DESK AND COMPUTER??? AND WHAT'S UP WITH THE WOMAN'S CLOTHING? WAS SHE VAPORIZED INTO GREASE AND LEFT BEHIND JUST CLOTHES? WTF.