World Trade Center Health Registry
Frequently Asked Questions
The World Trade Center disaster was an unprecedented event. Beyond the loss of life and physical destruction experienced on 9/11, the disaster’s full impact may not be known for years to come. That’s because it is unclear what kind of effect, if any, the smoke, dust, and debris from the WTC collapse may have on public health over the long term. It is not fully known how this exposure may affect the physical or mental health of those who experienced it most directly – workers in the rescue and recovery efforts, office workers, residents, schoolchildren, teachers, and people who happened to be in lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001.
To help answer these questions, the World Trade Center Health Registry has been established.
- What Is The World Trade Center Health Registry?
- Am I Eligible To Enroll in the WTC Health Registry?
- Why Is The WTC Health Registry Important?
- Why Should I Join The WTC Health Registry?
- How Do I Enroll in the WTC Health Registry?
- What Happens After I Enroll?
- What if I Decide To Quit The WTC Health Registry?
- Is the Information Collected by the WTC Health Registry Confidential?
- I’m not a U.S. Citizen or Permanent resident. Can I enroll?
- Will information be available in languages other than English?
- How Can I Contact the WTC Health Registry?
- What Is The World Trade Center Health Registry?
- Am I Eligible To Enroll in the WTC Health Registry?
- You were working in a building south of Chambers Street on 9/11/01.
- You were in a building, on the street, or in a subway south of Chambers Street on 9/11/01.
- You lived south of Canal Street on 9/11/01.
- You were a staff member, teacher, or student in a school (grades pre-K-12) south of Canal Street on 9/11/01
- You were a rescue, recovery, or construction worker – either at the WTC site, at the Staten Island Recovery Operation, or on the barges that carried debris between these sites – on 9/11/01 or in the months after.
- Why Is The WTC Health Registry Important?
- Why Should I Join The WTC Health Registry?
- How Do I Enroll in the WTC Health Registry?
- What Happens After I Enroll?
- Where were you on 9/11?
- How long were you in areas with smoke and fumes?
- Have you had any health problems since 9/11?
- Have you had added emotional stress?
- What if I Decide To Quit The WTC Health Registry?
- Is the Information Collected by the WTC Health Registry Confidential?
- I’m not a U.S. Citizen or Permanent resident. Can I enroll?
- Will information be available in languages other than English?
- How Can I Contact the WTC Health Registry?
The WTC Health Registry is essentially a giant database, holding self-reported health information about specific groups of people who were most directly affected by the WTC disaster. Its goal is to help researchers understand whether these groups may develop particular physical health or mental health problems over time that may be a result of the disaster. The WTC Health Registry is a joint initiative of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a federal public health agency.
You are eligible to enroll in the WTC Health Registry if you are in one of the following groups:
The WTC Health Registry will enable researchers to identify possible patterns of illness in groups of people over time. Because the Registry will have information on a large number of people, in different groups, it will be possible to understand whether certain health effects are related to the disaster or not.
Without people like you, the WTC Health Registry won’t work. We need to enroll thousands of people, so that we can find out if there are any health problems related to the September 11th disaster.
There are two ways to enroll. Beginning in the summer of 2003, you will be able to call our toll-free information line, or visit our Website at www.nyc.gov/health/wtcregistry.
Also, WTC Health Registry staff will be mailing information about the WTC Health Registry and how to enroll. These mailings will go to people who lived south of Canal Street in Manhattan on September 11, 2001. Mailings will also be sent to some employees who worked in buildings south of Chambers Street. We will also send information to workers and volunteers from the World Trade Center disaster site, the Staten Island Recovery Operation, and the barge workers.
After you enroll, a researcher will call you to either interview you by phone or to arrange a face-to-face interview. Some of the questions you will be asked include:
Researchers will also ask you for your name, address, and date of birth – so they can follow-up with you later. The WTC Health Registry staff will not share information about you with anyone else.
Participation in the WTC Health Registry is completely voluntary. Any one who enrolls in the WTC Health Registry can drop out at any time.
All information we collect is confidential. Information on individual people is never shared with anyone outside of the WTC Health Registry staff. To further insure this, we will have a Federal Certificate of Confidentiality that protects individual identifying data from subpoena in court or from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Yes. You do not need to be a U.S. citizen or a permanent U.S. resident to enroll in the WTC Health Registry. We will not ask about immigration status. All information will remain strictly confidential, and will not be reported to the Bureau of Citizenship and Naturalization Services.
Yes, you can still participate. Interviews will be conducted in Mandarin, Cantonese, and Spanish and other languages as needed.
You can visit our Web site at www.nyc.gov/health/wtcregistry or call New York City’s toll-free information line at 3-1-1.