World Trade Center environmental data report, 2001-2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

As part of activating its emergency response protocol, the Department of Health became a vital part of the city’s Emergency Operations Management command center. Re-established on Pier 92, it became the nerve center of the city’s response coordination, which included everything about responding to the disaster, from transportation to debris removal to protecting workers at the World Trade Center site.

Ib.^ Federal officials like CDC’s Patrick Meehan were lavish in

I 8 their praise for New York City’s quick recovery under the circumstances. Although the Emergency Management Agency lost everything and had to relocate quickly, and the health department also had to relocate, and had to work under *»» very crowded, difficult conditions, they did a fantastic job, he says. LJitU Photo: Andrea Booher/FEMA News Photo

“They did a marvelous job in the early recovery,” says Meehan. “Everyone just rolled up then- sleeves, worked together on the hardships they were facing and got the job done,” he says.

“Other than injury surveillance, everything else involving the Health department had to do with environment,” says CDC’s Ron Burger.

CDC initially worked with the New York City Department of Health on a range of health issues, from assessing hospital capacity issues and hospital needs to the environmental issues that, Meehan said, quickly rose to the top of the list.

“Other than injury surveillance, everything else involving the Health department had to do with environment,” says CDC’s Ron Burger, echoing Meehan’s comments.

With help from such seasoned advisors, the local city Health Department was able to effectively institute traditional public health measures such as sanitation, drinking water protections, and food safety monitoring and surveillance programs that helped protect the public from standard infectious diseases.

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