Former New York Gov. George Pataki revealed that he has been diagnosed with a lung disease he says is related to his exposure to toxins after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Pataki, who led New York state through the attacks and their aftermath, told the New York Post that he has restrictive airway disease and was diagnosed within the past five years.
Pataki served as governor from 1995 to 2006. He said he considers himself fortunate compared with first responders and others who have developed more serious illnesses.
“I just look at it as I’m one of the lucky ones,” Pataki told the Post.
Pataki said he feels well, and described his condition as a minor residual effect.
“The people who were with me at Ground Zero over and over for months after those attacks, many of them have serious illnesses, far more serious than anything I might be experiencing,” Pataki said to the outlet.
Pataki’s disclosure comes days before the 25th anniversary of the attacks, and about a week after the FDNY released a report on the long-term health impacts on department members who worked at the World Trade Center.
The report found that more than 600 FDNY members have died from illnesses related to their work after Sept. 11 over the past 25 years.
More than 12,000 members have been certified with at least one condition linked to their service at the World Trade Center site, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, mental health conditions and cancer.
Nearly 5,000 FDNY members in the program have been diagnosed with cancer, and about 26% have been certified with more than one type of cancer.
The federal World Trade Center Health Program says more than 9,000 people have died from illnesses related to the Sept. 11 attacks, far exceeding the number of people killed on the day of the attacks.