New York scientists use new DNA tools to identify 9/11 victims

World Trade Centre in smoke. [Photo: Courtesy]

Survivors of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001 - and first-responders who were on the scene that day - may have an increased risk for heart and lung diseases, a new study suggests.

The World Trade Center attack exposed thousands of people to intense concentrations of hazardous materials that have resulted in reports of increased levels of asthma, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic physical and psychological disorders, researchers note in the journal Injury Epidemiology.