World Trade Center (WTC) responders

Decades after 9/11, toxic dust and PTSD may be accelerating brain aging among first responders

<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/757070/original/file-20260831-50-fxel1p.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&rect=0%2C0%2C1024%2C682&q=45&auto=format&w=1050&h=700&fit=crop" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks casts a long shadow on survivors.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/firefighters-gather-by-the-south-reflecting-pool-during-the-news-photo/2234175241">Adam Gray/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hundreds of first responders have told me they remember exactly how they felt during the World Trade Center attacks, even 25 years on.</p> <p>They tell me that they remember not being able to think, see or smell anything. They could focus only on digging and pulling debris out of the way. They could not rest because those trapped beneath the rubble could not wait. Death was all around them, and they could only do as much as the