James Zadroga

The causes of Zadroga's death are under dispute. Gerard Breton, a pathologist of the Ocean County, New Jersey medical examiner's office, conducted an autopsy in April 2006, and he reported, "It is felt with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of death in this case was directly related to the 9/11 incident." This attribution made Zadroga, 34 years old at the time of his death, the first 9/11 responder whose death was directly linked with toxic Ground Zero substances. However, the examination did not compare the particles found in his lungs with actual dust from the World Trade Center site. Hirsch concluded that Zadroga died from self-injection of ground drugs, with Hirsch finding severe scarring in his lungs that he determined was caused by cellulose and talc granulomas and stating (through a spokesperson) that "The lung disease he had was a consequence of injecting prescription drugs". In response to the City Medical Examiner's autopsy results, Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg stated "We wanted to have a hero, and there are plenty of heroes, it’s just in this case, science says this was not a hero" at remarks made after receiving an award from the Harvard School of Public Health, but backed away from his earlier characterization at a news conferences stating that "This was a great N.Y.P.D. officer who dedicated himself — put his life in harm’s way hundreds of times during his career — and you can use your own definition." A third opinion obtained by Zadroga's family later that month from Dr. Michael Baden, chief forensic pathologist of the New York State Police (and former New York City Medical Examiner), backed the original claim of WTC dust responsibility, citing the presence of glass fibers in Zadroga's lungs that could not be related to injecting drugs. James' father, Joseph, said that the medical examiner reported no "track marks on his arms or body" and that his son had taken anti-anxiety medications and painkillers including OxyContin, but had never ground up and injected the drugs. ==James Zadroga Acts==

Then-Governor of New York George Pataki signed legislation on August 14, 2006, to expand death benefits to Ground Zero workers who die from cancer or respiratory diseases, under the presumption that the cause was due to exposure during recovery efforts. Pataki mentioned Zadroga at the bill-signing ceremony, held at the World Trade Center site. At the federal level, Zadroga became namesake for the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, which provides health monitoring and financial aid to 9/11 first responders and survivors. The Act covers medical and other expenses for a specific list of diseases and conditions. These include interstitial lung diseases, asthma, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Initially, the latency period often associated with diagnosing cancer has created a potential hurdle in appropriately compensating individuals who may die or become ill in the future as a result of their exposure following the 2001 tragedy. Since its creation, additional conditions have been made eligible: in September 2012, 50 different types of cancers were added, and in September 2013, prostate cancer was added to the list. ==Personal life==

Zadroga was of Polish descent. He had been married. His wife, Rhonda, had died in Florida in October 2005 due to a heart ailment. Zadroga was honored in his hometown of North Arlington, New Jersey with the renaming of the Skyline Sports Complex, from which the Twin Towers could be seen, which became the James Zadroga Soccer Field as of September 21, 2008. The borough has also dedicated two monuments to Zadroga as part of the ceremonies. == See also ==