Educational Media Reviews Online

9/11’s Unsettled Dust identifies the environmental health risks at ground zero of the New York City World Trade Center terrorist attack. Viewers will learn about the ailments first responders contracted from exposure to the debris at ground zero. The issues pertaining to first responders fight for medical coverage through congressional lobbying and bureaucracy drive this sincere testament to heroism.

The need for access to healthcare for the 9/11 first responders is readily established through interviews of those directly affected. Audiences will understand the main idea. The circumstances presented here are similar to Vietnam veterans petitioning the government for healthcare with respect to ailments acquired from the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

Discussed are the environmental hazards that first responders were exposed to. Asbestos, mercury and benzene were cited as substantial contaminants at ground zero. Medical data linking these contaminants to the first responders’ ailments would have strengthened the film’s position.

Recordings of the chemical debris clouds at ground zero provide tangible evidence. And denounce any inkling that the first responders’ claims are an abstraction. Unassailable.

Civic engagement is a primary theme throughout. Populations seeking to effectuate change through peaceful demonstration and legislative maneuvering will be inspired. State university libraries as well as public libraries should consider including this title in their catalogs.

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