Debate about cause of officer's death endangers 9/11 bill

http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=7262936

Associated Press - October 25, 2007 4:23 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) - The debate about a police detective's death endangers a bill to treat ailing Ground Zero workers.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the leading Democratic presidential contender, named her September 11th health bill after Detective James Zadroga. Zadroga died at age 34 after working extensively at Ground Zero.

But the New York City Medical Examiner concluded last week that the foreign matter found in Zadroga's lungs definitely did not come from dust generated at the World Trade Center site.

That conclusion will create extra hurdles for lawmakers trying to get the federal government to pay for treatment for ailing Ground Zero workers.

Many medical experts say an alternate cause for foreign matter in lungs is intravenous drug use.

Zadroga's family admits he took a potent mixture of drugs to treat his illness, but says the drugs were legitimately prescribed by doctors.