CDC Plans $50 Million 9/11 Youth Health Study
5 sourcesUpdated Sep 11, 2026
Sponsored
Nearly 25 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, federal health officials are preparing the first major study focused specifically on children, young adults and people who were in utero and exposed to the World Trade Center disaster. About 25,000 children lived or attended school in lower Manhattan, with others in nearby Brooklyn, but earlier government research largely focused on adult survivors and first responders. The CDC and World Trade Center Health Program plan to establish a Youth Research Cohort to track potential long-term effects, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, reproductive problems and other illnesses, compared with similarly aged people who were not exposed. Eligible participants were 21 or younger—or in utero—and living in designated parts of Manhattan or Brooklyn after the attacks; officials are still recruiting participants and researchers, with the study expected to begin once the cohort is sufficiently large.
Where do you stand?
How it spread
What each side asserts, disputes — or leaves out entirely.
Whose framing of this story rings truest to you?
Free account · your comment posts right after signup
million seems reasonable if it finally fills the gaps in data for that younger group.
Comparing those affected to similar unexposed peers in the area should give clearer results.
This study is long overdue for tracking health issues in kids exposed to the dust back then.
