NYC-WTC_000195741

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

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EPA task force, announced that it will “remove residual debris from rooftops and facades around the World Trade Center site,”’^"’ a task, while important, has little to do with the specific question of indoor air. In addition, the EPA task force said it would “work to build on an indoor air study conducted in November and December,”*^^ the results of which are still unavailable months later. It is a fervent hope that the creation of these groups was not an attempt to muffle the issue, which demands immediate action, not ponderous meetings and discussions. The public’s trust in government has already been severely weakened. The acts of unresponsive agencies damage the integrity and honor of government service, and despoil the trust necessary for government to be effective.

Now, seven months after the World Trade Center disaster, there is still time for the EPA to redeem itself and to make Lower Manhattan truly safe. The opportunity is here and now for the EPA to fulfill its purpose by accepting the mantle of protector of public health. A failure to act immediately may result in mammoth future health care costs—as victims of the disaster are faced with increasing health problems. By acting now, the EPA can help to avoid the costs, as well as maintain its role as public health defender. The EPA has the power, the knowledge, the means, the mandate, and the moral obligation to rise to the challenge.

There are some who urge a swift “return to normal” and who protest that raising the specter of contaminated indoor areas is scaring people. That attitude and those claims are short-sighted and irresponsible. It is certainly important to get New York City back on track, but to pretend that health hazards do not exist is foolhardy and reckless - both from a public health perspective and from the vantage point of economic redevelopment. If we act immediately and decisively, we can still safeguard both the City’s future and the public health. Surely the expense of cleaning properly is worth the health of this and the next generation.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Region 2 Press Release, “Federal, State, and City Agencies Announce Actions For Lower Manhattan Air Quality,” March 25,2002. Ibid.

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