Comments from feedback form - "What illnesses could and have ..."

What illnesses could and have been contracted by the workers who where near ground zero.

I personally know numerous responders who now suffer cancer and/or severe COPD, diagnosed and documented (through the federal WTC responder health monitoring program) as directly resulting from exposure to the aftermath of 9/11. They are lucky. There are many others with worse ailments and many who have already passed.