Doctors, Democrats Scrutinize September 11 Dust

[Hissyspit]

Source: Reuters

Doctors, Democrats scrutinize September 11 dust
By Ishani Ganguli

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pilar Albarado spent five months after September 11, 2001, cleaning pulverized building material from apartment buildings and offices near the site of the World Trade Center. A chronic cough came two years later, and she is also battling asthma, memory loss and acid reflux. Only now, almost six years after the attacks, is the extent of the medical toll on firefighters, police and others who worked on the cleanup coming to light, along with questions about how much the government knew of the danger.

Albarado, 44, cannot work because of her medical problems. Her acid reflux is so bad she cannot eat most foods. Democrats in Congress say Albarado is one of thousands of people endangered when the Bush Administration knowingly played down the risks posed by the dust, which contained asbestos, lead and other contaminants.

- snip -

Mount Sinai Medical Center researchers found 69 percent of the nearly 10,000 first responders they examined had new or worsened lung problems after September 11, while doctors at New York University School of Medicine documented these problems in lower Manhattan residents.

- snip -

Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democratic who headed a House of Representatives hearing on the issue in June, said the Environmental Protection Agency issued falsely reassuring statements about air safety and asbestos levels.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070718/ts_nm/usa_sept11_dust_dc

[Spinzonner]

1. Just more collateral damage on the road to Neocon Nirvana

They could care less

[Javaman]

2. Gee, I'm glad this is happening almost 6 FUCKING years after it happened...

as long as the insurance checks cleared no one gives a shit.

[EXANTIREPUB]

3. Where did all that dust come from?

On 9/11 two 110 story buildings "collapsed".  What
happened to all the concrete in those two buildings? 
According to all those first responders
it appeared that all the concrete was pulverized (turned into
dust).  If you watch any videos of those two buildings
"collapsing" it looks
like that they were literally blown up.  On top of that, WTC-7
"collapsed" that afternoon in approximately 6 1/2
seconds.  It appears to me
that all three of these buildings were brought down with
demolition charges which had to be put in place prior to 9/11.
 Why did the 9/11
commission not address these questions?  You would think that
they would want to know why these buildings
"collapsed".  Now that all these people
have gotten sick we need to know why all this dust ended up
covering all of lower Manhattan Island.  It's time to reopen
the 9/11 investigation!

[Big Pappa]

7. I

was to busy watching "Chemtrails" to notice.:tinfoilhat:

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. Did anyone analyze the dust extensively?

has there been any peer reviewed health studies done on it?

[seafan]

5. We have Christine Todd Whitman to thank, among many, for protecting Bush.

How the White House covered up post–September 11 hazards

by Carl Pope
Sierra Club Magazine

January/February 2004

Why would our government lie to us about something this big? Immediately after the collapse of the World Trade Center, scientists at the EPA gathered as much data as they could on the health risks caused by the fires and airborne debris. Based on that research, the agency quickly drafted a press release warning of high asbestos levels in lower Manhattan, and of risks to "sensitive populations" such as the elderly and asthmatics. The EPA also intended to caution property owners that their homes and businesses would need professional cleanup to remove asbestos, heavy metals, and other contaminants.

But when the EPA ran its press release by the White House, it was rejected for fear it would hamper the "return to normalcy." Even while Bush expressed compassion for the victims and support for the rescue workers and residents of lower Manhattan, including a dramatic visit to Ground Zero, his White House spin doctors took their blue pencils to the agency’s announcement. Rather than the EPA, the White House–controlled National Security Council was put in charge of the final release, with the rationale that it had expertise in weapons of mass destruction.

"Our tests show that it is safe for New Yorkers to go back to work in New York’s financial district," announced the rewritten statement, released on September 16. The reference to sensitive populations was deleted. The asbestos warning was replaced with an assurance that "ambient air quality meets OSHA standards and consequently is not a cause for public concern." OSHA standards, however, assume limited hours in a workplace, as well as appropriate protective equipment. The need for professional contractors to clean homes and offices was watered down to a general recommendation that people should follow instructions from city officials.

Two years later, in August 2003, the EPA’s Office of Inspector General concluded that the findings had been manipulated: "Competing considerations, such as national security concerns and the desire to reopen Wall Street . . . played a role in EPA’s air quality statements." (Another "competing interest," apparently, was the desire to downplay New York’s need for federal help and to protect the president’s cherished tax cuts. When New York officials complained that promised federal aid was slow in coming, White House budget director Mitch Daniels accused them of playing "money-grubbing games.")

The inspector general’s report came too late for thousands of people like Pat Moore, who cleaned up the three feet of dust and debris in her apartment herself because "no one told us about the possible risks." It was too late for the Ground Zero workers, 78 percent of whom, according to Mount Sinai Hospital, suffered from lung ailments. A private testing firm found asbestos levels of 850,000 fibers per square centimeter in the Woolworth Building, just across from city hall—more than eight times the level considered to be "high." Other tests found heavy asbestos loads in a stairwell used by employees of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Robert Gulack, senior counsel for the SEC, who developed bronchitis after the attack, charged that the stairwell had been recontaminated by the failure to clean the exterior of the building. "They rushed us back into contaminated playgrounds and schools and places of business," Gulack said. "They took it upon themselves to decide what we would be told, and what might be too upsetting for us to know." And when New York City firefighters asked to have their stations tested for toxic contamination, the administration refused.

The EPA responded to the furor over the inspector general’s report in the same way the Bush administration responds to all criticism: by refusing to admit that anything had ever gone awry. Even in retirement, former EPA administrator Christie Whitman continued to be a good soldier for the administration that had routinely ignored her and overridden her agency’s scientists. She blamed the rescue workers themselves for their failure to wear protective equipment: "If they had worn the devices," she told the New York Post, "we’d see a lot less problems."

"When she said that everything was OK, the firefighters believed those statements," shot back Steve Cassidy, the head of the firefighters’ union. "For her to say now that we are responsible is outrageous."

.....

And a bootlicker until the end:


Ex-EPA Head Christine Todd Whitman Denies Misleading Public Over Environmental Dangers After 9/11; Admits White House Removed EPA Call for NYC Apartments to be Professionally Cleaned of Dust


June 26th, 2007

.....

Nearly six years after the 9/11 attacks, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Christine Todd Whitman, appeared on Capitol Hill Monday to answer questions on whether the government misled residents and workers on the safety of the air quality around Ground Zero. In the days after the Twin Towers collapsed, Whitman assured New York City residents the air was safe to breathe. Thousands of workers and residents have suffered respiratory problems and other illnesses. At least two deaths have been directly linked the toxic Ground Zero dust.

Whitman's appearance marked the first time a top federal official has publicly responded to questions on the government's handling of environmental health impact of 9/11. In a heated session, Whitman defended her record and refused to express regret for assuring residents and workers the air around Lower Manhattan was safe. She also denied what many believe drove her misleading statements -- political pressure from the White House.

Whitman also admitted she had not read the clinical reports from the Mount Sinai Medical Center's World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program. A Mount Sinai study last year found seventy percent of around ten thousand Ground Zero workers developed new or worsened respiratory problems.

.....

(transcript of Whitman's testimony at the link)

[Doremus]

8. When I read stories of such all-consuming evil, I really, really, really

hope there's a hell and it's waiting with its gaping mouth open ready to devour the likes of this cowardly, lying, shameful excuse for a human being.

May she spend an eternity there in perpetual pain. Perhaps then she'll grasp what she's wrought.

:evilfrown: :evilfrown: :evilfrown: :evilfrown: :evilfrown: :evilfrown: :evilfrown: :evilfrown: :evilfrown: :evilfrown:

[lovuian]

6. This is worse than Al Queda's attack

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1B2WBD-F-7I

There will be many more and this is a crime

[lovuian]

9. Dust to Dust

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1B2WBD-F-7I

Its criminal what they did to People of NY