Ground Zero Ceremony Adds 7th Moment of Silence

Friday's 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero will include an extra moment of silence. For the first time, a seventh moment will be taken to honor the thousands who have died in the years since the attacks from illnesses tied to the toxic dust and debris of the World Trade Center site, reports CNN. The added bell is set to ring around 12:30pm, after the traditional six that mark the four plane strikes and the collapse of the twin towers. The WTC ceremony begins at 8:40am and includes the reading of victims' names, per the New York Post.

The new moment of silence "means having my dad's story along with all the other stories acknowledged as a part of the entire 9/11 story, as well," says Leah Betso, whose father, James, was an NYPD officer who died of brain cancer in 2015. He spent months at Ground Zero. More than 57,000 people enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program have cancer diagnoses, which have been on the rise in recent years. The change comes after New York City released 170,000 pages of records suggesting officials downplayed air-quality dangers at the site.