World Trade Center environmental data report, 2001-2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

the National Library of Medicine. It also reported that, at the same time, elevated levels of mercury have been found in the blood of several police officers that had been assigned to the site

“In the wake of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, the potential for environmental health risks to residents and workers in lower Manhattan has been a topic of considerable concern among both the public and the scientific community,” wrote the New York Academy of Sciences several months after the events.

Its community forum held Oct. 18, for example, featured Dr. Paolo Toniolo, of NYU School of Medicine, who discussed the complex context of this disaster, a densely populated urban area living in conditions of high stress, “including emotional stress, displacement and economic hardships, and future uncertainties; the possibility of exposure to a wide variety of pollutants; and the limited information so far on exposure.”

There was also a fierce critique of the absence of safeguards for workers. Tom Barnett, a Manhattan police officer and a trustee of the city’s Patrolman’s Benevolent Association, who was on the scene of the wreckage in the beginning, says that many police, fire and other rescue workers went unprotected in the first few days after the catastrophe. He fears that many could develop illnesses as a result.

“There were too many to count down there,” said Barnett, who added, “No one was sick in the beginning of the Gulf War, but as time went on they developed illnesses. I can only imagine that the same thing could happen here.” (9)

Within a few weeks, addressing what the group felt to be an absence of leadership from OSHA, The New York Conunittee for Occupational Safety and Health published several fact sheets for workers and others engaged in the cleanup and restoration effort detailing a host of hazards from toxic ash to blood-borne disease risks.

Meanwhile, the Ground Zero Elected Officials Task Force called for a single agency to monitor environmental safety and to respond to concerns of nearby residents and businesses. The task force was especially concerned about the dust on rooftops and buildings, as well as the collateral dust spread by trucks transporting the debris.

Reassurances repeated Nevertheless, at the top levels of government, officials continued to insist there were no real long-term hazards to the general public. Several weeks later, a reporter for CNN.com wrote, “The smoke may be unpleasant, city, IT ..1 T state and federal health officials agree—but it's not a health threat.” The mayor was reported saying: "It may be uncomfortable I ^.llj : i and it may be offensive—and it is in many ways—but the reality is, it is not dangerous," New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said. (10)

Photo: EPA

78

NYC-WTC_000144996