Democrats ask for Whitman probe on 9/11

[WhiteTara]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/1500AP_Attacks_Health_Whitman.html

WASHINGTON -- Democrats from New York and New Jersey asked on Wednesday for an investigation that could lead to criminal charges against former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Christie Whitman for breathing problems suffered by thousands after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Whitman told The Associated Press that she and the EPA "agreed then and I reiterate now that the air on the WTC site was not clean - the consequence of millions of tons of burned debris from the most horrific attack in our nation's history.

snip

Whitman, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, declared in the days after Sept. 11 that the air in lower Manhattan was safe for workers and residents. But she has said she and the EPA always differentiated between the air quality in lower Manhattan and at ground zero.

Former Sept. 11 Commission chairman Thomas Kean, also a former Republican governor of New Jersey, said it was troubling that the Democratic congressmen "would misuse the heroic service of thousands for their political gain in an election season."

The congressmen - New York Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Anthony Weiner and New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. - said the health of their constituents, and not politics, was their concern.

more...I'm glad Christie isn't getting a free pass on this thing.

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. I'd love to see Christie get probed

Gotta start somewhere.

[stepnw1f]

3. lol... Oh My

Reword your title quick...

[texpatriot2004]

2. Good news nm

[babylonsister]

4. I don't understand how Whitman can claim she said the air wasn't

clean when she knows there's video of her saying otherwise.
And Kean, what were you doing supporting that horrendous movie in a political year when you knew it was full of lies? Have you embraced hypocrisy in your life?

[BattyDem]

8. She's claiming that what she meant was ...

the air in lower Manhattan was safe, but the air at Ground Zero was not. Apparently no one ever told Ms. Whitman that air travels. :eyes:

She also claims that she told Rudy Giuliani that the Ground Zero air wasn't safe and it was up to him to force the rescue workers to wear respirators.

So about the video:

Whitman either lied to the public about the air being safe

OR

Whitman said the air was safe, but only meant the air in lower Manhattan - NOT the air at Ground Zero. It's the public's fault for misinterpreting her. She has not explained why she didn't consider Ground Zero to be part of lower Manhattan, when it is, in fact, located in lower Manhattan. She has also not explained why she didn't tell the public that the air at Ground Zero was not safe or why she assumed that the toxic air at Ground Zero would not mix with the "safe" air in lower Manhattan. :eyes:

[babylonsister]

9. So she's trying to pass the buck, and not very successfully at that! nt

[Sherman A1]

45. Agreed

That is pretty much standard operations for this Merry Band of Thieves ---- "Ah, I didn't say that".... "I didn't do it".... etc...."

[One_Life_To_Give]

51. I believe the FED EPA has Memo's/documents

Being able to prove they notified the City that the environment for those working on the pile was hazardous should keep Whitman out of trouble. And could focus the probe onto Giuliani's administration.

[Kurovski]

41. Excellent, excellent point about Kean, babylonsister. (nt)

[mom cat]

5. We must demand answers. K&R

[Bitwit1234]

6. Whitman

So let me get this correct. The air that the people at the twin towers site were breathing was full of ash and detrimental to their health. And Witman said it was fine, even tho the EPA disagreed.

Now the democrats - have just had this verified. So because they want it looked into they are bringing up something at election, negative to the republicans. At least that is what Keane said, after he agreed that it was OK for the republicans to show a movie that was mostly a lie about the democrats. That wasn't partisan because he is a republican and they can do what they want.

AND now the republicans are looking for anything, any little piece of lying fact they can dig up on the democrats, to spew before the public before election, paying millions and millions to do so. And that again is ok because it is against the democrats and that's what the republicans do best they smear and slur and lie and name call. BUT THE DEMS CAN'T TELL THE TRUTH...IT'S ELECTION TIME.

[RufusEarl]

7. The EPA did not agree, the whitehouse put out the statement.

I watched a documentary the other night on IFC, titled Dust to Dust. It explains how Whitman made the statement that the air quality was fine and not harmful, but the EPA would not make that statement the final OK to allow people back in the area of ground zero came from the WH.

[WhiteTara]

10. another reminder...the monkey

hates all people and only loves money.

[ClintonTyree]

44. That's what I thought too......

I remember saying to myself at the time, "there's no way that air is safe to breath down there, those people are putting their lives in jeopardy". It would be interesting to know how much pressure from the Oval Office was exerted to keep that site open, to keep the cameras rolling for their propaganda purposes. PLENTY, is my guess.

[Kber]

50. My friend's sister worked at the EPA on Sept 11, 2001 in NYC

By October she had quit because it was clear to her that 1) it wasn't safe to work there and 2) the EPA scientists weren't going to be allowed to tell the truth. She now works at an independent non-profit environmental research and advocacy group which has been working on this issue since the late fall on 2006.

[krkaufman]

58. Dems need to offer legislation proposing ....

... the acceptable windows when legislation may be introduced without it being considered "partisan politics during an election cycle."

[OrwellwasRight]

11. Who knew what and when?

We all knew early on. If we paid attention:

http://www.msnbc.com/news/961134.asp?0cv=CB10&cp1=1

[indepat]

12. We don't need no cheap shots at Christie, a good little foot soldier

just probably doing what she was ordered to do: go after the generals!

[tblue37]

28. Yeah, but if she is brought up on charges, who knows what

inconvenient truths she might be persuaded to tell.

The lower level Republicans won't go against the party line, because they like power and graft and they fear the brutal tactics the Rovians will bring against them if they whisper a word about the lies, the corrption, and the crimes. But if they face worse consequences from the legal system, they might be a bit less willing to keep quiet about the evil they have been privy to.

[The Wizard]

48. forget the legal system

Bush appointments to the Courts have compromised judicial impartiality for at least a generation. She may get tried or sued in State Courts that haven't been contaminated by the Rove/Bush junta, but once it gets kicked up to a Federal level all Republicans are home free as federal judges will always rule according to their political leanings, justice be damned. If they ruled according to law and precident President Gore would be in the Oval Office today instead of the disaster known as the Bush Administration. They have no shame, never did, never will.

[civildisoBDence]

57. Whitman may have been witless

but she isn't blameless.

Let the witless Whitman bear witness against DUHbya, no matter the outcome.

Newsprism

[BuyingThyme]

62. Nope. She's just another tool from the Nixon administration.

[flyarm]

13. this is from my files about EPA:STATEMENT OF U.S. EPA LABOR UNIONS

i have it dated Oct 21, 2003...fly

STATEMENT OF U.S. EPA LABOR UNIONS

ON IMPROPER WHITE HOUSE INFLUENCE
ON EPA’S RESPONSE TO TERROR ATTACK OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001


http://www.nteu280.org/Issues/nteu%209-11%20Statement.htm


NTEU CHAPTER 280 - U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
BOX 76082, WASHINGTON D.C. 20013 - PHONE [phone]
INTERNET http://www.nteu280.org E MAIL [email protected]

DESCRIPTION NEWSLETTER CURRENT ISSUES PRESS RELEASES LINKS MEMBERS PAGE HISTORY SITE INDEX







STATEMENT OF U.S. EPA LABOR UNIONS

ON IMPROPER WHITE HOUSE INFLUENCE
ON EPA’S RESPONSE TO TERROR ATTACK OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001





We, the undersigned representatives of the workers who perform health and environmental protection duties at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency across America, express our anger and dismay over evidence of the White House’s improper actions in connection with communicating health risk information to emergency workers and residents in New York immediately following the terror attacks on that city on September 11, 2001.



EPA’s dedicated Civil Service employees performed their duties swiftly and competently following the terror attack, assessing as accurately as possible the environmental health risks faced by the brave rescue workers and nearby residents from toxic substances released in the attack. These workers reported to senior EPA officials their best estimate of the risks, and they expected those estimates and the accompanying recommendations for protective measures to be released in a timely manner to those who needed the information.



The public was not informed of all of these health risks, some of which were avoidable. This information was withheld from the public under orders from the White House. Instead, the Bush White House had information released, drafted by political appointees, that it knew to contradict the scientific facts. It misinformed. And many rescue workers and citizens suffered. Some citizens now face the long-term risk of asbestos-related lung cancer as well as other debilitating respiratory ailments as a result.



Little did the Civil Service expect that their professional work would be subverted by political pressure applied by the White House. This unwarranted and inexcusable interference with the professional work of the Civil Service by politicians reporting directly to President Bush caused rescue workers and residents to be exposed to health risks that could have been, indeed should have been, avoided.



We express our solidarity with the rescue workers and residents who were affected adversely by this outrageous action of President Bush’s staff. There is no excuse for White House politicians imposing their values and overriding the Civil Service’s best advice on protecting those still digging in the wreckage and those whose homes and offices were covered with toxic debris.



President Bush owes the rescue workers, residents, dedicated Civil Service workers and the American people more than an apology for his actions in this matter. President Bush should take steps to compensate the rescue workers and residents who were harmed by his administration’s actions.



The President’s political appointees’ interference with the professional work of the EPA Civil Service has seriously harmed EPA’s credibility. Before there is another national emergency, that credibility must be restored.



The President must pledge to never again order EPA to tell less than the whole truth about a public health emergency.





/s/ Paul Sacker /s/ Dwight Welch

President AFGE Local 3911, New York President NTEU Chapter 280, Washington, DC



/s/ Alan Hollis /s/ Henry Burrell

President AFGE Local 3631, Philadelphia President AFGE Local 3428, Boston



/s/ Nancy Barron /s/ Gretchen Helm

President NAGE Local R5-55, Atlanta President AFGE Local 3331, Washington, DC



/s/ Charles Orzehoskie /s/ Merrit Nicewander

President AFGE Local 704 Chicago President AFGE Local 1003, Dallas



/s/ John C Anderson /s/ Kevin Orendorf

President NTEU Chapter 294 Kansas City President AFGE Local 3607, Denver



/s/ Wendell Smith /s/ Patrick Chan

President ESC EPA-Unit San Francisco President NTEU Chapter 295, San Francisco



/s/ Mary St. Peter /s/ Mark Coryell

President AFGE Local 1110, Seattle President AFGE Local 3907, Ann Arbor



/s/ Larry Penley /s/ Silvia Saracco

President NTEU Chapter 279, Cincinnati President AFGE Local 3347 Research Triangle Park



/s/ Nita Tallent-Halsell /s/ Lesley Mills

President NAGE R12-135, Las Vegas President NAGE R1-240, Narragansett



/s/ Geraldine Cripe

President NAGE Local R5-95

[flyarm]

16. this from my files..

you must buy the entire article now..but this is what i have..in my files..fly

this is the synopsis i have in my files..the second is what is in NYT archives..

How Industry Won the Battle of Pollution Control at E.P.A.

How Industry Won the Battle of Pollution Control at E.P.A.
"Just six weeks into the Bush administration, Haley Barbour, a former Republican party chairman who was a lobbyist for electric power companies, sent a memorandum to Vice President Dick Cheney laying down a challenge. 'The question is whether environmental policy still prevails over energy policy with Bush-Cheney, as it did with Clinton-Gore,' Mr. Barbour wrote, and called for measures to show that environmental concerns would no longer 'trump good energy policy.' Mr. Barbour's memo was an opening shot in a two-year fight inside the Bush administration for dominance between environmental protection and energy production on clean air policy. One camp included officials, like Mr. Cheney, who came from the energy industry. In another were enforcers of environmental policy, led by Christie Whitman, a former Republican governor of New Jersey."


from nyt archives...

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D12FB355B0C758CDDAA0894DC404482


AIR WAR -- Remaking Energy Policy; How Power Lobby Won Battle Of Pollution Control at E.P.A.


*Please Note: Archive articles do not include photos, charts or graphics. More information. March 6, 2004, Saturday
By CHRISTOPHER DREW AND RICHARD A. OPPEL JR.; JENNIFER 8. LEE CONTRIBUTED REPORTING FROM WASHINGTON FOR THIS ARTICLE. (NYT); National Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 1, Column 1, 3562 words
DISPLAYING ABSTRACT - Article discusses how Bush administration changed nation's approach to environmental controls and ultimately shifted balance to side of energy policy; there was two-year fight inside administration for dominance between environmental protection and energy production on clean air policy; one camp included officials like Vice Pres Dick Cheney, who came from energy industry; Environmental Protection Agency Admr Christie Whitman led enforcers of environmental policy; battle engaged some of nation's largest power companies, which were also among largest donors to Pres Bush and other Republicans; they were represented by Haley Barbour, former Republican party chairman, and influential lobbyist Marc Racicot; senior officials at EPA eventually became isolated, and several, including Whitman, resigned

To read this archive article, upgrade to TimesSelect or purchase as a single article.

[flyarm]

17. more from my files:

must read this one!! fly

http://www.msnbc.com/avantgo/963407.asp?s=HEALTH

MSNBC.com Mobile
Anger builds over EPA's 9-11 report
Charges of a cover-up hit nerve with New Yorkers


Sept. 11,2003 — Two years after the World Trade Center attacks, New Yorkers say they're outraged by reports that the White House influenced the Environmental Protection Agency to downplay hazards posed by the toxic dust that fell in an avalanche over the city. The EPA's acting chief defends the agency's actions after the attacks, saying it hopes to be better prepared for "the next time."

"I PRAY TO God that, as a country, in the event of another terrorist attack, God forbid, we as an agency would be equipped to get the data analyzed and posted to the public," EPA Acting Administrator Marianne Horinko told MSNBC in an exclusive interview. "All that was a huge challenge to us on 9/11 — coordinating communication among agencies, following incident command. God forbid there is a dirty bomb. I hope everyone knows their battle stations."

In the early days and weeks of the World Trade Center disaster, says Horinko, there was such chaos that mistakes were inevitably made.

"Did we rush out (too soon) with data? On balance, I think we used our best professional judgment in an atmosphere where people were clamoring for answers." But the agency wasn't trying to deceive the public, she claims.

However, a report by the EPA's Office of the Inspector General released on Aug. 21 states, among other criticisms, that the White House reviewed and even changed EPA statements about public health risks to make them sound less alarming. The report charges that the White House Council on Environmental Quality influenced "the information EPA communicated to the public through its early press releases when it convinced EPA to add reassuring statements and delete cautionary ones." The report cites "reopening Wall Street" and "national security" as reasons for the spin.

'WE WERE ALL LIED TO'
The EPA presented "an overriding message that there was no significant threat to human health" even though there was cause for caution, it concluded.

"When EPA made a September 18 announcement that the air was 'safe' to breathe, it did not have sufficient data and analyses to make such a blanket statement," said the OIG, adding that the agency was missing data on other pollutants, such as particulates and chemicals like PCBs. In addition, 25 percent of dust samples contained asbestos, a potent carcinogen.

fly

[flyarm]

18. another from my files about Whitman/ asbestos exposure being DELETED

The EPA's Lies after 9/11 will kill more than the attack itself

from a radio show, George Noory interviewing former Marine, Prof Jim Fetzer Ph.D. of st911.org

JF: The towers were loaded with asbestos...

GN: That's why so many thousands of people are still getting sick.

JF: They're dying from it George, they're dying from it. The EPA even lied to the New Yorkers. This is so criminal its unbelieveable. They told them that it was not toxic dust when in fact the opposite was the case- this is a shock! And that the New York Times should ignore all of this is an atrocity!

Of course this was extremely toxic dust, but rather than alarm the public, the EPA blatantly lied, "to boost morale" by re-opening Wall St.

What kind of people would put thousands at risk to "boost morale"?

This huge lie could help open the eyes of millions of Americans- many still dismiss the unanswered questions about 9/11 because, who could believe their gov't willfully killed 3,000 citizens to justify launching wars in the Middle East?

Well it turns out this statement will be responsible for many more than 3,000 deaths.
"I'm glad to reassure the people of New York that their air is safe to breathe."
EPA Chief Christine Todd Whitman



http://benfrank.net/patriots/news/criminals/epa_lied

"I'm glad to reassure the people of New York that their air is safe to breathe."
EPA Chief Christine Todd Whitman


The dust blew all over lower Manhattan and across Brooklyn, affecting between 250,000 and 400,000 people. Two days after the terrorist attacks, the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, Christine Todd Whitman, issued a statement saying that the air was safe to breathe. Cautionary statements in a draft press release that talked about even low levels of asbestos exposure being hazardous were deleted. The final press release said short-term, low-level exposure was "unlikely to cause significant health effects".
The EPA's inspector-general concluded that these statements were seriously flawed.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/unravelling-september-11s-enduring-toxic-legacy/2006/04/13/1144521464146.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2
Unravelling September 11's enduring toxic legacy


snip:

The dust blew all over lower Manhattan and across Brooklyn, affecting between 250,000 and 400,000 people. Two days after the terrorist attacks, the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, Christine Todd Whitman, issued a statement saying that the air was safe to breathe. Cautionary statements in a draft press release that talked about even low levels of asbestos exposure being hazardous were deleted. The final press release said short-term, low-level exposure was "unlikely to cause significant health effects".

The EPA's inspector-general concluded that these statements were seriously flawed.

The EPA's assurances — which its watchdog found were motivated in part by a desire to reopen the New York Stock Exchange — are now the subject of several lawsuits.

A judge recently refused to grant Ms Whitman immunity against a class-action lawsuit brought in 2004, saying: "No reasonable person would have thought that telling thousands of people that it was safe to return to lower Manhattan — while knowing that such return could pose long-term health risks and other dire consequences — was conduct sanctioned by our laws."

The judge called her actions "conscience-shocking".

Ms Whitman, who retired from the EPA post in 2003, says she is outraged by the ruling, which she is appealing against.

To make matters more complicated, a different judge in the same courthouse dismissed another lawsuit on the basis that the US Government has immunity against class actions.

[rodeodance]

24. thanks for the refreshers posts

[The Wizard]

49. If New Yorkers

were predominantly Rethugs Whitty would have told the truth. Look at all those votes getting buried, literally.

[Drops_not_Dope]

56. Changed or altered reports are a pattern in Bush White House

Published June 8 2005-NYT
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0608-05.htm

A White House official who once led the oil industry's fight against limits on greenhouse gases has repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways that play down links between such emissions and global warming, according to internal documents.

In handwritten notes on drafts of several reports issued in 2002 and 2003, the official, Philip A. Cooney, removed or adjusted descriptions of climate research that government scientists and their supervisors, including some senior Bush administration officials, had already approved. In many cases, the changes appeared in the final reports.


They've got three more years, and the only way to control this issue and do nothing about it is to muddy the science.


The dozens of changes, while sometimes as subtle as the insertion of the phrase "significant and fundamental" before the word "uncertainties," tend to produce an air of doubt about findings that most climate experts say are robust.

Mr. Cooney is chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the office that helps devise and promote administration policies on environmental issues.

[aquaman]

14. I watched a film on this just today on Sundance....

Very disturbing film, government manipulation caused and will cause many, many lives to end prematurely. The media will surely begin to pay attention to this. :sarcasm:

[European Socialist]

15. How about a scumbag registry for people like her. Since she started...

the sex offender registry.

[Ignacio Upton]

19. Tom Kean: Hypocritical douche

n/t.

[flyarm]

20. 2002 exec order let EPA bury info on air hazards 'Secret' 9/11 lies?

FROM MY FILES..IF LINK DOES NOT WORK PM ME I WILL PM YOU FULL ARTICLE!!
FLY

THIS IS A MUST READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/438831p-369566c.html

'Secret' 9/11 lies?

2002 exec order let EPA bury info on air hazards

BY CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

With New Yorkers already fuming about reports that the feds downplayed the danger of Ground Zero dust, the White House gave EPA chief Christie Whitman the power to bury embarrassing documents by classifying them "secret."
"I hereby designate the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to classify information originally as 'Secret,'" states the executive order, which was signed by President Bush on May 6, 2002.

Although the stated reason for Bush's directive is to keep "national security information" from falling into enemy hands, advocates for thousands of ailing Ground Zero heroes are convinced there's a more sinister motive.

"I think the rationale behind this was to not let people know what they were potentially exposed to," said Joel Kupferman of the New York Environmental Law and Justice Project. "They're using the secrecy thing to cover up their malfeasance and past deceptions."

[flyarm]

21. EPA Hit With Ground Zero Lawsuit/NEW YORK, March 11, 2004

GEE IT IS ABOUT TIME THE MSM CATCHES UP ON WHAT WE IN NJ AND NY HAVE KNOWN ..for a very long time!!

from my files...fly

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/11/health/main60...

EPA Hit With Ground Zero Lawsuit
Residents, Area Workers Say EPA Misled Them About Air Quality

NEW YORK, March 11, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The firefighters, police and others who spent months at Ground Zero searching for bodies weren't the only ones exposed to unusual pollutants in the air. (AP)


Quote

Many of the estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people who volunteered or worked at Ground Zero in the aftermath of Sept. 11 have reported developing health problems that were still present two years later.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


(AP) Residents and workers in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, saying the agency improperly let thousands of people return to their homes and businesses after the World Trade Center collapsed.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan accused the agency of making misleading statements about air quality after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, said the EPA left people "unnecessarily exposed to potentially hazardous levels of asbestos and possibly other carcinogens and toxic substances."

It accused the agency and its leaders, including former EPA Administrator Christie Whitman, of "a shockingly deliberate indifference to human health."

[flyarm]

22. Two Months On, The New Battles at Ground Zero

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/1111-05.htm

Published on Sunday, November 11, 2001 in the Observer of London
Two Months On, The New Battles at Ground Zero
by Ed Vulliamy in New York

snip:

Silverstein's fiefdom at Ground Zero is sick with dangers graver than the 34 broken bones, 183 serious burns, 441 lacerations, 1,000 eye injuries and other wounds from crashing cranes and exploding gas cylinders.

The air is filled with toxic chemicals and metals - dioxins, PCBs, benzene, lead, sulphur dioxide, copper, chromium and others. Benzene is especially noxious, with the ability to cause bone marrow cancer and leukemia.

snip:

An FBI agent stands next to a Polish immigrant dressed in a protective asbestos suit; customs officers, police patrolmen, Mexican laborers, environmental health monitors, firemen, all thrown together in the same queue waiting for the same thing: lunch at Ground Zero, served in a 'kitchen' of several long tables by an assembly line of volunteers.

Another lineup of tables offers eyewash, footpads, hand creams, aspirins and other health items. In this suddenly egalitarian society, all volunteers - Salvation Army Christians, musicians and a Veterans Administration orderly - are equal. The publisher of the Miami Herald, visiting New York, hands out eyewash and alcohol swabs, unloads trash bins, refills a huge coffee urn.

Some of downtown's most famous restaurants have taken a stab at cooking for relief workers; the renowned Boulez is an assiduous presence. Its tent looks similar to that of the Salvation Army, but the food is much better - couscous, fettucini and other delicate confections. Boulez became the desired celebrity relief destination; Candice Bergen found herself obligingly mopping the floor.

Wake up anywhere south of Canal Street, and there's that sickening smell coming through the window, now a routine part of daily life.

[flyarm]

29. 'Significant Adverse Effects' May 19, 2004

from my files...fly

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5006568/site/newsweek/site/newsweek/

'Significant Adverse Effects'
Recent reports show that the dust from the World Trade Center attacks is more toxic than researchers initially realized—and so is the range of health problems in those exposed to it

WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Jennifer Barrett
Newsweek
Updated: 12:11 a.m. ET May 19, 2004

snip:

Graham did not use a respirator when he started work at the site, though he wore a mask later. Still, he says, he believed the air was safe after the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman declared it so a week after the attacks (a statement she has since been widely criticized for making). “The government lied to us,” he says. “They said the air was clean.”


snip:
It’s not clear how many of those who were exposed to the contaminated air around Ground Zero have yet to come forward for treatment, but there is widespread agreement within the medical community that the number who are suffering lingering health problems from the September 11 attacks is greater than initially anticipated. Weiden, who treats the New York firefighters, says there’s still "a large unmet need" and warns: "Some—or many—of those caught in the cloud will be in crisis if they don’t understand what’s going on.".

"It's much more serious than we initially realized," says Landrigan, the principal author of the study. “It took awhile to realize just how toxic this dust was.”

It could take even longer still—Landrigan says the first related cancer cases may not appear for at least a decade—to realize just how serious the consequences will be for the thousands like Graham who were exposed to the dust.

[flyarm]

30. Ground Zero Hazards Environmental and Health Impacts of the WTC Bombin

this is an incredbile resource...from my files..fly

many great links on the bottom of this report..

http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/groundzero/environment.html


Ground Zero Hazards
Environmental and Health Impacts of the WTC Bombing
After the Twin Towers were leveled, smoke and dust rose over 1000 feet and moved south over Brooklyn and Staten Island. Many people in the immediate area, and particularly rescue workers, were subjected to an unknown cocktail of gases and airborne particulates. In the days after September 11 the EPA and OSHA took air samples and reported that they found no excessive levels of asbestos, lead, or volatile organic compounds in the air, except in or around Ground Zero. Contrary to these reports, dust samples taken from surfaces near Ground Zero did show very high levels of asbestos. 1 Â Significant quantities of asbestos had remained in the Twin Towers despite asbestos abatement programs.

EPA: Concealing and Aggravating a Health Catastrophy
In the days and weeks following the attack the Environmental Protection Agency gave assurances to New Yorkers that the dust permeating Lower Manhattan and the smoke still emanating from Ground Zero did not pose a health risk. The agency issued five press releases within ten days of the attack assuring people that the air was safe to breathe, despite an absence of data to support such assurances. 3 Â In August of 2003, it was revealed that the EPA had been muzzled by the Bush administration. EPA Inspector General Nikki Tinsley issued a report on August 21, 2003, admitting that the reassurances were unfounded, and that the public statements of the agency were being influenced by the National Security Council, under the direction of the White House. The EPA, according to the report, had been influenced to "add reassuring statements and delete cautionary ones."



snip:

http://www.sierraclub.org/groundzero/
A 2004 report by the Sierra Club went further than previous reporting in detailing the cover-up of the public health hazards of Ground Zero. The report's summary indicates gross malfeasance by EPA, FEMA, and OSHA.

The Ground Zero health risk cover-up did not result from a poorly informed government. The World Trade Center attack involved the open, uncontrolled burning and demolition of two huge buildings - conduct that would be illegal in any state of the Union because of the known risks to human health. This report finds that the federal government ignored its own long-standing body of knowledge about pollution from incineration and demolition. The notion that EPA had to wait for test data before telling people that the pollution posed health risks is absurd. EPA should have issued a health warning, based on its own knowledge of pollution, before any test data came in.
EPA failed to investigate and disclose toxic hazards properly. Oddly, EPA's website reports that it found no polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) - cancer-causing chemicals generally released by combustion of mixed materials - "in any air samples," although four independent tests found them at elevated levels and even EPA's own research scientists reported in a scientific journal that they found them at levels that Science magazine deemed worthy of "the most serious kind of concern."
The federal government failed to change its safety assurances even after it became clear that people were getting ill, and even after a survey of federal employees of a sister agency in the same building as EPA at 290 Broadway revealed that they were suffering health impacts - a survey that, this report finds, the federal government did not release to the public at the time. It was quietly published in a journal in 2002.
Many Ground Zero workers did not have proper protection, especially in early weeks. This report explains that federal assurances of safety gave workers conflicting messages about the need for respirator masks, which are difficult and exhausting to wear.
OSHA refused to enforce worker safety standards at Ground Zero. It wrongly claimed that it had no authority in national emergencies. It then continued this refusal long after the emergency had passed, and long after it became apparent that serious health and safety risks were occurring despite efforts by OSHA staff to advise safety.
EPA and FEMA, in concert with New York City's own health department, told families that they could clean up the contaminated dust themselves with wet rags. In fact, they actually discouraged area residents from wearing safety masks. 4 Â


In mid-2006, as evidence of a health disaster mounted, a 2002 executive order directing the EPA's Administrator to classify information as secret was revealed by the NY Daily News. 5 Â

[flyarm]

31. Lawsuits by Victims of Ground Zero Exposures

Lawsuits by Victims of Ground Zero Exposures
EPA and WTC Owners Defendants in Class Action Lawsuits

http://911research.wtc7.net/wtc/groundzero/lawsuits.html#owners

Environmental Protection Agency Defendent in Class Action Lawsuit
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a series of press releases in the weeks following the 9/11 attack on New York City assuring residents that the air was safe to breathe.

On March 10, 2004, the law firm of Berger & Montague filed a lawsuit against defendants Christine Todd Whitmann (former administrator of EPA), Marianne L. Horinko (former assistant administrator and then administrator of EPA), Michael Leavitt (administrator of EPA since November 2003), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of "residents, students, and office workers in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn who have been exposed to hazardous substances in the interior of their residences, schools, and work places as a result of the collapse of the World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001." The complaint named plaintifs Gail benzman, Diane Lapson, Jim and Anamae Gilroy, JoAlison Polett, Robert Gulack, Janice Fried, John Calder, Jenna Orkin, Kelly Colangelo, George Dinos, and Brian Edwards, and "other persons similarly situated." 1 Â The lawsuit asked the court to establish and fund a program for medical monitoring for conditions resulting from toxic exposures. 2 Â

On February 3, 2006, US District Court Judge Deborah A. Batts ruled that the lawsuit can proceed with respect to its allegations that Whitman violated the plaintiffs' Fifth Amendment Constitutional right to be free from bodily harm by making "materially misleading statements regarding the safety of the air quality in Lower Manhattan after September 11, 2001." 3 Â


WTC Owners Defendants in Lawsuit on Behalf of Ground Zero Workers
A second lawsuit, filed by different plaintiffs against a different defendant, cited similar harms as those cited by the lawsuit against the EPA. On September 10, 2004, Worby, Groner, Edelman, & Napoli, Bern, LLP announced a class action lawsuit against owners, managers, controllers and leasors of the World Trade Center on behalf of Ground Zero cleanup workers and others. Attorney for the suit David E Worby said that this suit could include hundreds of thousands of individuals. 4 Â The lawsuit included more than 800 plaintiffs at the time of its filing, September 10, 2004. 5 Â

William R. Sawyer, a leading national expert on the toxicity of the World Trade Center site, stated:

Certified analyses of the particulate matter removed from this gear revealed high levels of several different carcinogens which were far beyond the EPA-recommended levels. The variety and seriousness of the likely resultant illnesses are as unique and unprecedented as the combination of deadly poisons to which these workers were exposed.

[flyarm]

32. White House edited EPA's 9/11 reports

http://www.epa.gov/oig/reports/air.htm


Survey of Air Quality Information Related to the World Trade Center Collapse <1.37MB PDF> September 26, 2003
Inspector General's Personal Statement on World Trade Center Report
1.) EPA Response to the World Trade Center Collapse <3.39MB PDF>
2.) Supplemental Appendices
Review of Conflict of Interest AllegationsPertaining to the Peer Review of EPA’s Draft Report, "Exposure and Human Health Evaluation of Airborne Pollution from the World Trade Center Disaster,” Report No. 2005-S-00003


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

from my files.......fly


http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/136350_epa23.html

Saturday, August 23, 2003

White House edited EPA's 9/11 reports

By JOHN HEILPRIN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- At the White House's direction, the Environmental Protection Agency gave New Yorkers misleading assurances that there was no health risk from the debris-laden air after the World Trade Center collapse, according to an internal inquiry.

President Bush's senior environmental adviser yesterday defended the White House involvement, saying it was justified by national security.

The White House "convinced EPA to add reassuring statements and delete cautionary ones" by having the National Security Council control EPA communications after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, according to a report issued late Thursday by EPA Inspector General Nikki Tinsley.

"When EPA made a Sept. 18 announcement that the air was 'safe' to breathe, the agency did not have sufficient data and analyses to make the statement," the report says, adding that the EPA had yet to adequately monitor air quality for contaminants such as PCBs, soot and dioxin.

In all, the EPA issued five news releases within 10 days of the attacks and four more by the end of 2001 reassuring the public about air quality. But it wasn't until June 2002 that the EPA determined that air quality had returned to pre-Sept. 11 levels -- well after respiratory ailments and other problems began to surface in hundreds of workers cleaning dusty offices and apartments.

[flyarm]

33. EPA Response to September 11 documents/reports..

http://www.epa.gov/wtc/documents.htm

click on link..to see what the epa said then ...


EPA Response to September 11 Documents / Reports

[rodeodance]

26. I think I recall this.

[rodeodance]

23. great to see this. This has been going on for far to long--covering up for

the most part.

[rodeodance]

25. and look what Kean said (recall his role in Path to 9/11)

.....Former Sept. 11 Commission chairman Thomas Kean, also a former Republican governor of New Jersey, said it was troubling that the Democratic congressmen "would misuse the heroic service of thousands for their political gain in an election season."

[The Wizard]

52. Kean Sr.

is a lying theiving weasel with a good line of shit. He's good at appearing non partisan and fair with his fake patrician affect. His primary concern is getting his vapid, empty suit offspring, Junior, elected to the United States Senate. Hence the fictional account of 9-11 he signed off on for ABC and criticism of Democrats critical of Whitmann's EPA, all of whom by the way are, in safe seats and don't need to grandstand. Tom Kean Sr. is running interference for the Paris Hilton of New Jersey politics, his son, Junior. We don't need another Junior in Washington to rubber stamp more Bush the Lesser's failed policies. We don't need another Junior in Washington who never worked a day in his life but rather lived off the family name and trust funds, accomplishing nothing of consequence. We've already seen that act and we want a refund.
We don't need Tom Kean the Elder giving cover to the corrupt junta known as the Rove/Cheney/Bush cabal. And if anyone forgets, the 9-11 Commission was a whitewash providing cover for the crooks and liars who failed to do their jobs, most of whom were rewarded for their failures as a way to keep them silent.

[rodeodance]

27. k and r.

[flyarm]

34. Clinton, Nadler, Maloney Call for GAO Investigation Into

http://www.house.gov/list/press/ny08_nadler/073106GAOLetterEPAClassifyingData.html


July 31, 2006 202-225-5635
Clinton, Nadler, Maloney Call for GAO Investigation Into
EPA's Classifying of Data

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney today asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to expand its ongoing investigation into the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) response to the September 11th attacks to include an examination of classified documents. A report in the New York Daily News on Friday revealed that President Bush signed an Executive Order in May 2002 authorizing the EPA Administrator to classify information as “secret,” which could include documents relating to World Trade Center environmental contamination.



Earlier this year, at the request of Clinton and Nadler, the GAO agreed to investigate EPA’s failure to establish an effective, science-based testing and clean-up plan in response to the post-9/11 environmental disaster. Clinton, Nadler, and Maloney expressed concern that the GAO investigation might be hampered if important information about the Agency’s response to WTC contamination is kept secret. These concerns were also heightened by a 2003 EPA Inspector General report, which found that the White House instructed the EPA to issue false assurances about the air quality, and to delete cautionary statements from public statements.



In a letter sent today to the GAO, the Members wrote: “The EPA continues to refuse to fulfill its responsibility to conduct a comprehensive testing and cleanup program. The people who live, work and go to school in the area impacted by Ground Zero debris deserve to know the full extent of contamination that may exist in their neighborhoods.”



Specifically, the letter requests that the GAO expand its investigation to determine:



· Whether any information was, in fact, classified as secret by the EPA pursuant to this Executive Order;



· If any of the information classified as secret pertains to the nature and/or extent of the environmental impact of the WTC collapse; and



· Whether all of the information classified as secret received this classification for legitimate national security reasons.



The full text of their letter follows:



July 31, 2006





The Honorable David M. Walker

Comptroller General of the United States

United States Government Accountability Office

441 G Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20548



Dear Mr. Walker:



We are writing to request that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) amend its investigation into the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York to include an examination of documents classified as “secret” by the Agency.



An article in Friday’s New York Daily News reveals that President Bush signed an Executive Order in May 2002 allowing the EPA Administrator to classify information as “secret.” Although the stated reason for the Executive Order is to protect national security, this revelation raises doubts about the Agency’s potential motives in classifying documents related to its response at the World Trade Center.



As you know, in August 2003, the EPA Inspector General (IG) released a report entitled “EPA’s Response to the World Trade Center Collapse: Challenges, Successes and Areas for Improvement.” In addition to documenting problems with EPA’s limited indoor cleanup program, the IG report found that the White House instructed the EPA to issue falsely reassuring statements about the air quality, and to delete cautionary ones from public statements.



Although the EPA agreed to establish an expert panel to reexamine some of the problems identified by the IG, that panel has since been dismantled, and the Agency continues to refuse to conduct a comprehensive testing and cleanup program.



We are pleased that the GAO has already agreed to conduct an investigation into EPA’s response to environmental contamination following the terrorist attacks of September 11. We are concerned, however, that the GAO investigation, and any other efforts to protect the public health and environment from WTC contamination, will be severely limited if the EPA classifies important documents.



Therefore, we ask that the GAO expand its investigation to determine:



1) Whether any information was, in fact, classified as secret by the EPA pursuant to this Executive Order;



2) If any of the information classified as secret pertains to the nature and/or extent of the environmental impact of the WTC collapse; and



3) Whether all of the information classified as secret received this classification for legitimate national security reasons.



It has been almost five years since the attacks of September 11, 2001, and people still have questions about the environmental and health effects resulting from World Trade Center contamination. The EPA continues to refuse to fulfill its responsibility to conduct a comprehensive testing and cleanup program. The people who live, work and go to school in the area impacted by Ground Zero debris, deserve to know the full extent of contamination that may exist in their neighborhoods. The victims of the terrorist attacks deserve access to any and all information necessary to protect the public health and environment.



If you need any additional information, please feel free to contact us. We stand ready to work with you to answer any questions you may have.





Sincerely,









Hillary Rodham Clinton Jerrold Nadler Carolyn Maloney

United States Senator Member of Congress Member of Congress

[lovuian]

35. Theres going to be lots of dead people because bush & co

needed Wall Street back and running!!!

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Erika]

37. What are you talking about?

Please explain. Thanks.

[mhatrw]

39. interesting

:eyes:

[Erika]

38. Ah, the acts on 9/11 was against the U.S. and the world

financial group.

Whitman said all was safe. It's that simple.

Either Whitman, the bushbot lied to the American people, or she did not.

Which is it?

[gumby]

40. Les'see, Christie Todd Whitman (once a Repub Rising Star),

under the direction of George Bush, Dick Cheney and cotton-mouthed Haley Barbour gave the orders to.....

GAS THEIR OWN PEOPLE.

GET IT????

[radfringe]

42. "Really, the city was the primary responder......

Whitman told The Associated Press that she and the EPA "agreed then and I reiterate now that the air on the WTC site was not clean - the consequence of millions of tons of burned debris from the most horrific attack in our nation's history.

"We were emphatic that workers needed to wear respirators, a message I repeated frequently."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/07/60minutes/main1982332_page3.shtml

"But with all due respect, your job as the head of the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, is to protect people from the environment. Did you really do it?" Couric asks.

"We did everything we could to protect people from that environment and we did it in the best way that we could, which was to communicate with those people who had the responsibility for enforcing what we were telling — saying — should be done. We didn't have the authority to do that enforcement, but we communicated that to the people who did," Whitman says.

Whitman says the city had ultimate authority over the site. "Really, the city was the primary responder," she says.

"Did your people do enough to call the people who were overseeing the site, i.e. Mayor Giuliani and city officials and say, 'Damn it, we've got to protect these people'?" Couric asks.

"Oh, EPA was very firm in what it communicating and it did communicate up and down the line," Whitman says. "No uncertain terms."

In fairness to the City of New York, OSHA, the federal agency in charge of safety in the workplace supplied and encouraged the use of respirators but decided not to enforce their use because of the extraordinary nature of the attacks.

[orleans]

43. i saw nadler on tv the other day and he said that whitman should be

charged with manslaughter!

i totally agree!

[Sherman A1]

46. That could be a bad thing for her

hopes to run on the 2008 ticket. Oh, darn......

[leftchick]

47. How Bad Is it? WATCH: CBC's Toxic Legacy: A CLOUD of dust

Toxic Legacy: A CLOUD of dust


http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/toxiclegacy/

complete transcript and video clips at the link. Send them to your congress person. It will make you sick. :(

[The Wizard]

53. And the recommended response to 9-11

by the powers that be: Go shopping.:banghead:

[3reddogs]

54. You have to wonder

how Christie Todd Whitman sleeps at night. (But, wait, my question implies that she has a conscience and it's painfully obvious that she doesn't.)

And Governor Kean, (or should I say "Governor Pot" blithely calling the kettle black), if anyone misused "the heroic service of thousands" it was Whitman (prodded on, no doubt, by George Bush) ... getting Wall Street back up and running was clearly more important to them than the health of the dedicated people trying desperately to find survivors at Ground Zero. (And I suppose your involvement with a movie rife with fabrications and distortions, "The Path to 9/11", wasn't for your party's political gain in an election season?)

[Scout1071]

55. I was at Ground Zero two weeks after the tragedy and I can say for certain

that air was not clean. My eyes and throat burned and I had to walk around the area with my shirt pulled up over my mouth and nose. I remember sobbing for those workers who were breathing it in in bulk. My throat burned for DAYS afterwards. Everything in Lower Manhattan was covered in nuclear looking dust. That air wasn't safe and they knew it. Anybody who went there knows that...and those workers knew it then, but they are freakin' heroes.

[savemefromdumbya]

60. It was nuclear dust

big cover up

[Botany]

59. ? for Christie Whitman

If you knew the air was bad why didn't you call the President?

[savemefromdumbya]

61. Why else was it called Ground Zero?

not your normal demolition