Ground Zero Worker Blames Erectile Dysfunction On Post-9/11 Toxic Air

It's clear at this point that toxic air at post-9/11 Ground Zero caused lung problems and other health issues for workers and first responders at the site. But one construction worker says his health woes have gone beyond his upper respiratory system; he claims he's suffering from erectile dysfunction, too.

Steven O'Hara, who worked at the WTC site for five weeks following the 9/11 attacks, is suing six firms behind the cleanup for unspecified damages, saying that he was led to believe the site was safe. But according to the suit, he has since suffered from a number of different disorders he believes are related to air contaminants at the site. Most of the claimed ailments are respiratory, and are pretty typical for first responders and other post 9/11 WTC workers. But O'Hara says he started suffering from impotence in 2005 and was officially diagnosed in 2010. He alleges that diagnosis resulted from his work at the WTC site. "It's absolutely horrible what happened to all of us," O'Hara told the Post.

The firms O'Hara is suing say his diagnosis surpasses the three-year statute of limitations that would have allowed him to pursue legal action for his condition. And while O'Hara's therapist testified that O'Hara suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after working at the WTC site (according to a number of medical studies, impotence can stem from PTSD), that diagnosis came several years before he started suffering from erectile dysfunction.

But regardless of whether O'Hara's impotence can be traced back to 9/11, his wife insists she is the one who is really losing out; according to the lawsuit she wants compensation for a "loss of the love, society, companionship, services, affection and support."

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Ground Zero Worker Blames Erectile Dysfunction On Post-9/11 Toxic Air