50,000 people enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry

More than 50,000 people from New York City and all 50 states have enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry, according to the City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), which urged those who are eligible to sign up before the August 31st deadline.

Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH also released the latest Registry quarterly report, which contains demographic data about enrollees as of July 2, 2004. As of August 1st, 51,025 people had enrolled in the Registry. The announcement was made at a press conference earlier today at Robert F. Wagner Park in Lower Manhattan.

"Enrolling 50,000 people in the World Trade Center Health Registry will make a lasting contribution to understanding and addressing the long-term health effects of 9/11" said Commissioner Frieden. "But the more people that enroll, the more comprehensive and accurate the Registry's findings will be. With just four weeks left in the registration period, people who were in the vicinity of the World Trade Center on September 11th are strongly encouraged to step forward and enroll - especially Manhattan residents south of Canal Street, workers at the WTC site, and students enrolled at schools south of Canal Street on September 11, 2001."

Joining Commissioner Frieden at the press conference were G. David Williamson, Director, Division of Health Studies at the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; Dr. Kelly Henning, Director of Epidemiology at DOHMH; Council Member Alan J. Gerson; Don Lee, downtown resident and member of the World Trade Center Health Registry Community Advisory Board (CAB); and other representatives from the CAB and DOHMH.

People can enroll in the Registry by calling 1-866-NYC-WTCR (1-866-692-9827) and answering a 30-minute survey over the phone. All information provided is strictly confidential. For more information on the Registry, New York City residents may call 311; people living outside New York City can call (212) NEW-YORK.

Dr. Williamson said, "Many people from beyond the New York City area were present in lower Manhattan on 9/11, or came to aid in the rescue, recovery, or clean-up efforts in the months following. With less than a month left, it is vitally important that all people who are eligible - even those who reside outside New York City - to enroll in the World Trade Center Health Registry."

Dr. Kelly Henning, Director of Epidemiology at DOHMH said, "We know that about a quarter of people who enrolled in the Registry waited one month or more before doing so. Today serves as a critical reminder to everyone who has contemplated signing up for the Registry- the August 31st deadline for signing up is fast approaching."

Don Lee said, "The World Trade Center Health Registry Community Advisory Board will actively promote enrollment during the next four weeks, and will also continue working with our City and federal partners to keep the downtown community informed of the Registry's future findings."

Registry staff are enrolling more than 1,200 people each week. Current outreach efforts target residents because of their continuous exposures to smoke and debris, WTC site workers because of the intensity of their exposures on 9/11 and in the weeks and months that followed, and students in order to see what developmental health impacts, if any, are associated with World Trade Center disaster.