World Trade Center environmental data report, 2001-2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Impact of the September 11th Attack on Air Quality and Public Health in Lower Manhattan.” (15)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has failed in its mission to "protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment," the congressman charged, “by not exercising its full authority to test and clean all indoor spaces where people live and work.” In a “white paper” on the issue, the congressman said that the agency had “created a full-scale crisis of public confidence. (16)

But don’t people in a community have a right to be protected, or told if they may be potentially adversely affected by release of hazardous chemicals? Don’t emergency personnel need immediate information so they can protect themselves from short or long-term health impacts? And doesn’t the general public need health risk information so that they can make choices about personal protection, or leave the area if need be?

Even those who head into danger, mindful of occupational hazards, in time want access to timely and accurate information about health and safety. According to the CRS report, the answers to all these questions are yes. “Because information about health risks can be provided only by environmental and public health experts, government officials with expertise arguably have a responsibility to make such information available to the affected public.”

That’s the case for emergency responders too. Even those head into danger, mindful of occupational hazards, in time want access to timely and accurate information about health and safety. Studies show that lack of knowledge about the hazards at the World Trade Center contributed to the rescue workers’ stresses.(l)

“Responders respond and they go to work right away, with or without information,” a panelist at a conference on protecting emergency responders told conferees. “What kills rescue responders is the imknown.” Hundreds of firefighters, police and other first responders were lost at the World Trade Center because they weren’t made aware of deadly hazards. Another law-enforcement panelist remarked, “With cops, it’s a real simple mantra: ‘If you don’t give me information, I will give you a rumor.’ And rumors will spread faster than information.” (2)

Evidence of health effects As the events unfolded and as doctors and hospitals began seeing health effects in their patients, they began to see a need to mount studies. Unfortunately, though, many of these researchers had to delay their studies imtil funding could be secured, CRS notes. So there may have been missed opportunities for data, as a result.

According to Congressman Nadler, the agencies’ lack of attention to indoor hazards loomed as a very real problem. Nadler claimed that it was absurd that the EPA claimed publicly that it didn’t have the legal authority to do necessary environmental tests and remediation in response to the World Trade Center attacks when it has clearly done residential work throughout the country, said Congressman Nadler. “Why is New York being treated differently?”

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