re: 3 FDNY firefighters die Monday from cancer caused by 9/11.

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Most likely mesothelioma, because the towers were built in the early 70's, when asbestos was widely used. Asbestos is (was) a great building material, very strong, fire proof, and excellent insulator, they just didn't know it would kill you.

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Nobody seems to know exactly how much asbestos was in the WTC, but click on the image to the right and you’ll get a pretty good idea: a lot!

The New York Port Authority originally planned to use 5,000 tons of asbestos fireproofing. The fireproofing, trademarked Blade-Shield, was manufactured by United States Mineral Products of Stanhope, N.J. It was 20% asbestos mixed with mineral wool — a concrete-like substance made from melted rock.

By 1971, medical studies began to show the cancerous effects of asbestos, and New York City banned its use in construction — but not before asbestos-containing Blade-Shield was sprayed on the beams and supports of the first 40 floors of the Twin Towers. The Port Authority claims that over half of the applied asbestos-containing fireproofing had been removed by September 11, 2001. So, how much asbestos remained in the Twin Towers? Estimates vary from 400 tons all the way up to 2000 tons.

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