The New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project was founded in New York City in 2003 with the purpose of treating rescue workers for toxins inhaled from the smoke of the September 11 attacks. It has two clinics; Downtown Medical on Fulton Street, two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center and another at Williston Park, Long Island. The project's co-founder and top fundraiser is the actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise. It uses the Purification Rundown, a "detoxification" program invented by L. Ron Hubbard as part of Scientology's Bridge to Total Freedom. This rundown has been criticized by many doctors as pseudoscientific and medically dangerous, although it has produced positive testimonials from some recipients. It was reported in October 2007 that 838 people had completed the program.
The project has been supported by some public officials, and received some public funding, but received criticism for its financial ties to the Church of Scientology, for exposing rescue workers to potential medical dangers, and for discouraging their use of orthodox medicine. Sources in the Fire Department told a reporter that several participants had joined Scientology, even disconnecting from their families.
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