For a few moments today, take time to remember Dr. Stephen Levin.
Levin made it his life’s work to document occupational health hazards and speak up for thousands of workers exposed to harmful particles, including asbestos, which causes mesothelioma.
Most notably, Levin, a doctor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan, became a vocal supporter for firefighters, police officers and rescue workers who breathed in toxic dust from the collapse of the World Trace Center towers.
Dr. Levin died Feb. 7 at his New York home. He was 70.
In the days after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center towers, Levin helped found a clinic that would care for the first responders. By that time hundreds had waded in the burning rubble, breathing in tiny traces of asbestos, dioxin and glass.
His studies and oversight of the clinic helped pave the way for government-funded health screenings and ongoing medical treatment for the 9/11 responders. The crowning achievement was the passage of the $2.8 billion Victims Health and Compensation Fund in 2011 that would cover medical expenses for the men and women who put their lives in harm’s way.
Dr. Levin also provided medical expertise in helping federal lawmakers enact a law requiring safety devices to protect bridge builders from lead poisoning.
Critics of asbestos know Dr. Levin for an alarming study that found that a vermiculite mine in Libby, Mont., was the chief reason that hundreds of people were dying of asbestos-related illness. In addition to the vermiculite, the mine was also contaminated with asbestos.
Today, the 2,600 residents still struggle from the effects of the mine that was closed 20 years ago. Millions of dollars has been spent to try to clean up the area. An estimated 400 people have died from asbestos-related disease, including mesothelioma. Many of them didn’t even work in the mine.
Mesothelioma is caused by inhaling or ingesting airborne asbestos particles. Approximately 3,000 people are diagnosed with the incurable cancer every year in the United States. Many mesothelioma symptoms are similar to lung cancer and can include difficulty breathing and chest pain.
Those who knew Dr. Levin gathered at Mount Sinai hospital to pay tribute to the man nearly two weeks after his death.
Meanwhile workers everywhere who never knew Dr. Levin are ensured a safer working environment because of his important research.