Each year, more and more Polish asbestos workers die as a result of work they did at Ground Zero back in 2001. Last Wednesday, families and colleagues of those who had passed away prayed for them at a Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

It was the second annual Mass commemorating the deceased members of Local 78, which will be conducted each year in November.

"The problem is not getting smaller. Each year, we lose more and more of our people," says Paweł Gruchacz, the union's secretary. During the Mass, Gruchacz read a long list of deceased members of Local 78. The list, mostly comprised of Polish names, also included a couple of Spanish and Eastern European names.

The list contains the names of those who have died since the inception of the workers' union in 1996, but the majority of names appear on it after 2001. Before 9/11, there were merely a couple of deaths, mostly attributed to tragic accidents. Now the workers are dying because of illnesses incurred by harmful work conditions at Ground Zero.

Last November, there were 50 names on the list. This year it has gotten longer by over a dozen names. "Eight people died in July alone. A couple of my friends are in serious condition now. We sit there worrying who is going to be next," said Jozef Pogorzelski, one of the asbestos workers.

Among those who died last July was Marek Kabata, who also worked at Ground Zero. "Marek woke up one morning and all of the sudden felt ill. A moment later, he was dead. As it turned out, he had a massive heart attack," Gruchacz says.

Among the illnesses suffered by Local 78 workers are: asthma; apnea; lung diseases; chronic cough; and gastric problems. Heart problems, however, are the most lethal.

Asbestos workers have no doubt that their illnesses are in part due to the work they did at Ground Zero, where they inhaled contaminated and polluted air.

They blame their deteriorating health and many deaths on the federal government, claiming they were employed when their help was needed, but now, when they need government assistance, they seem to be forgotten.

Basically, all 3,000 members of Local 78 participated in the cleaning up of Ground Zero in 2001. Although half of the union's members are Latinos, there have been more Polish casualties. "Polish members are older than Latinos and that's why they are more vulnerable to diseases," says Gruchacz.