Mariners among those who still suffer serious health effects from 9/11

The most menacing challenge for mariners was the dust, which created whiteout conditions and left captains navigating only by radar, according to Jessica DuLong, a journalist, historian and author of Saved at the Seawall.

A retired chief engineer of a FDNY fireboat, DuLong writes that the dust exposure “began a years long process of illness that would for some mariners contribute to an early death. It’s impossible to know how many mariners would end up suffering from illness.”

She said that at least 120 ferry captains, deckhands and mates are registered with the federal World Trade Center Health Program, which has 60,000 people registered as potentially vulnerable. Of the mariners, 53% suffer from at least one illness or condition that doctors attribute to 9/11 exposure, according to DuLong.