N.Y. pols push feds on 9/11 cancer link
A BIPARTISAN group of New York members of Congress is pushing the federal Labor Department to recognize a specific type of cancer known to afflict 9/11 first responders.
The department has refused to accept the causal link between chronic lymphocytic leukemia and time spent at Ground Zero — a decision that means federal employees who worked on contaminated sites after the terrorist attacks may not be able to access full benefits.
Reps. Carolyn Maloney (DManhattan), Jerrold Nadler (DManhattan), Nita Lowey (DWestchester County) and Pete King (R-L.I.) wrote to U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta on Friday to let him know his department’s decision conflicts with the determinations of medical experts and other government offices.
In their letter, the lawmakers pointed to the case of Customs Service Special Agent Terence Opiola (photo top), whose story was first reported by On the Job in September.
Opiola, 49, was diagnosed two years ago with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. It joined the long list of his other 9/11-related diseases: acid reflux, sleep apnea, sinusitis, rhinitis and chronic respiratory condition.
The World Trade Center Health Program, the WTC Victims Compensation Fund and the federal Office of Personnel Man- agement all agreed that Opiola suffers from what’s known as “9/11 leukemia blood cancer.”
But the Labor Department told Opiola — who spent months combing through Ground Zero debris dumped on Staten Island — that his application for disability through workers’ compensation was denied because the link between chronic lymphocytic leukemia and 9/11 was unproved.
His case raised concerns for New York’s elected officials, the members of Congress wrote to Acosta in their letter.
“The department appears to be failing its obligation to Mr. Opiola and other 9/11 responders who have medically diagnosed conditions due to their service,” they wrote to Acosta.
“Taking into consideration the substantial medical and other scientific evidence supporting cancer, including (chronic lymphocytic leukemia), we ask that the (Labor Department) review and reconsider not only Mr. Opiola’s application, but also those of any other similarly situated 9/11 federal responders,” it continued.
Opiola, who worked as a 9/11 criminal investigator, was able to retire even though the Labor Department denied his claim.
But he didn’t get the tax-free, three-quarter benefit that would have been his had the department approved his claim.
Opiola and his lawyer, former NYPD cop and Ground Zero responder Matthew McCauley, requested a hearing with the department, but have been told the first available time is in January.