http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/15469223.htmNew Yorkers: WTC health problems ignored
NEW YORK - Angry residents gathered near ground zero to denounce the government's handling of Sept. 11-related health problems, saying they have been ignored for years.
Their complaints were likely to be echoed during a congressional committee hearing Friday morning in New York where lawmakers intend to grill federal officials about the absence of medical treatment for thousands who were exposed to the World Trade Center ruins.
"Collateral damage, that's what I feel like," tenant group leader Diane Lapson said at a meeting held at a church across the street from the World Trade Center site.
Tom Goodkind, a 52-year-old accountant, complained that while help programs existed for those who worked on the debris pile, little was done for people who lived nearby.