Retired NYPD Detective Rich Volpe responded to the towers during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and worked at the site or at the sifting site at Fresh Kills throughout the recovery efforts.
In the summer of 2002, he was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy, a rare and serious kidney ailment that afflicts mostly older people. He was 33. Both his kidneys were destroyed by the disease.
Two of his colleagues have the same illness. All three had kidney transplants at about the same time. And more of his colleagues have died of illnesses connected to their World Trade Center work. His partner suffers from site-related leukemia, reports Mark White for The News Journal.
The World Trade Center Victim Compensation Fund helps those with certain illnesses that are caused by the site exposure. IgA nephropathy is not one of the covered diseases, nor are many kidney conditions.
Volpe and others are trying to change that. Diseases continue to be added to the fund’s list as the number of the sick grows.
