9/11 firefighters more likely to develop cancer

 　　BEIJING, Sept. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Firefighters who worked in the wreckage¹ of the World Trade Center in 2001 were 19 percent more likely to develop cancer than those who were not there, according to a study.

　　The study, published Thursday in the British medical journal The Lancet, surveyed cancer occurrence in nearly 10,000 male firefighters in the seven years after Sept. 11, 2001. (There were too few women to create a meaningful sample size.)

　　The 9/11 attacks occurred on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. As a result, the World Trade Center collapsed², and nearly 3,000 Americans killed. Among the 2,753 victims killed in the World Trade Center were 343 firefighters.

　　There were 263 cancer cases in the exposed population, showing a cancer rate 19 percent higher than that of the group not exposed.

　　The study indicated that cancers like melanoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, thyroid and prostate cancer occurred more frequently among exposed firefighters than in the general population. But occurrences of lung cancer did not increase.

　　The findings “provide information that there may be a significant cancer risk for these people”, said Dr. James Melius, the administrator³ of the New York State Laborers’ Health and Safety Trust Fund and one of the peer reviewers of the study.

　　But the results were far from conclusive⁴. “This is not an epidemic,” said Dr. David J. Prezant, a lead researcher and the chief medical officer for the New York Fire Department.

1 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

4 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。