14 DAY TRIAL // According to his autopsy, a 34-year-old New York police detective's death was due to exposure to toxic dust on September 11, 2001.
A coroner report said the detective died after developing a respiratory infection, while working at ground zero, where the attacks took place. James Zadroga's family "released" the autopsy results on Tuesday, confirming that the death was caused by the aftermath of the bombing of the World Trade Center.
The man died in January, after respiratory complications and inflammation of his lungs due to exposure to toxic fumes and dust. Zadroga spent 470 hours through the ruins of the twin towers, wearing a paper mask for protection. In a few weeks, he started breathing heavily, developed a cough and had to use an oxygen tank to breathe.
"They all knew it was detrimental to their health," said Joseph Zadroga, the detective's father. "They all knew that, yet they stayed there." Researchers say it will take tens of years before determining which illnesses and deaths, among ground zero workers, were caused by their exposure to the asbestos dust cloud.
About 25 deaths have been linked so far to exposure to the cloud, which, according to doctors, contained a number of toxic chemicals, including asbestos and over 1 million tons of debris.