Dangerous Dust Wreaks Havoc on Peoples' Mental and Physical Health

Asthma and post-traumatic stress disorder have not only persisted years after the World Trade Center disaster, but the most traumatized of all are the passersby, tourists and commuters who happened to be in the area when the towers fell , Newsday reports.

Meanwhile, with the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaching, a new study reports that more people exposed to the World Trade Center horror continue to suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress and asthma , USA Today reports.

However, the Sept. 11, 2001, attack that killed thousands and exposed hundreds of thousands to horrific images and potentially dangerous dust is still wreaking havoc on peoples' mental and physical health, researchers say in the Aug. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The data come from the World Trade Center Health Registry, which follows enrollees who reported a range of disaster-associated exposures on 9/11 , WebMD reports.