NEW YORK, NY October 19, 2007 —The city medical examiner has ruled that the death of a retired police detective was not caused by exposure to toxic dust while working at ground zero. WNYC’s Fred Mogul has more.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Hirsch rejected a New Jersey medical examiner's ruling that James Zadroga death last year was ''directly related'' to working at the World Trade Center site. After reviewing the autopsy report, Zadroga's medical records and slides of the detective's lung tissue, Hirsch wrote to the family: “It is our unequivocal opinion, with certainty beyond doubt, that the foreign material in your son's lungs did not get there as the result of inhaling dust at the World Trade Center or elsewhere.”

The case has been seen as the strongest medical link between work in rescue, recovery and cleanup operations and a fatal illness. The detective's father, Joseph Zadroga, described Hirsch’s findings as “shocking” and “callous.” The two men are scheduled to meet today at the medical examiner's office.

The Medical Examiner’s findings have set off a new round of finger-pointing. The head of Detective Zadroga’s union says the city is trying to defend itself from lawsuits. Mayor Bloomberg issued a statement emphasizing that the work of the medical examiner is independent and scientific.