NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document
9/13/01 - EPA Administrator claims no apparent asbestos hazard
In a 9/13/01 press release, Governor Whitman, the EPA Administrator, aimounces no hazard,
with incomplete knowledge:
“EPA is greatly relieved to have learned that there
appears to be no significant levels of asbestos dust in
the air in New York City. . .
“Public health concerns ab out asbestos
contamination are primarily related to long-term
exposures. Short-ter, low-level exposure of the type
that might have been produced by the collapse of Ihe
World Trade Center buildings is unikely to cause
significant health effects.”
(www.epa.gov/epahome/newsroom.h1m)
9/14/01 - EPA finds asbestos over 1% at Ground Zero
9/14/01 - Press article quotes EPA that some dust levels were over 1% asbestos, but only at
Ground Zero. (9/14/01, Asbestos Alert, Newsweek, www.msnbc.com, also posted at
www.nycosh.org/linktopics/WTC-catastrophe.html )
9/18/01 and 9/21/01 - EPA Administrator reiterates no asbestos hazard
Governor Whitman states in a 9/18/01 press release:
“We are very encouraged that the results from our
monitoring of air quality and drinking water
conditions in both New York and near the Pentagon
show that the public in these areas is not being
exposed to excessive levels of asbestos or other
harmful substances ... I am glad to reassure the
people of New York and Washington, D.C. that their
air is safe to breathe and their water is safe to drink”.
(www.epa.govfopahome/newsroom.htm)
In a 9/21/01 press release, Governor Whitman states:
“EPA has been very aggressive in monitoring for
potential environmental problems in the aftermath of
the World Trade Center attack, and 1 am very pleased
by what weVe discovered. New Yorkers and New
Jersians need not be concerned about environmental
issues as they return to their homes and workplaces.”
“Only seven samples taken at or near ground zero
have had marginally higher levels of asbestos that
exceed EPA’s level of concern for tang-term
exposure.”
(www.epa.gov/epahome/newsroom.htm)
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NYC-WTC_000140139
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