Exclusive: ‘We Were Not Told to Lie’ About 9/11 and Health

[Khephra]

Exclusive: ‘We Were Not Told to Lie’ About 9/11 and Health

NEWSWEEK


Sept. 8 issue — After stepping down this summer as the head of the EPA, the embattled Christine Todd Whitman is once again in the hot seat. This time it’s over her role in the downplaying of health hazards for New York City residents after 9/11. A report by the EPA inspector general says that Whitman assured the public that the air was safe before testing was conclusive. She’s also under fire for allowing EPA statements to be filtered through the White House and screened by the Council on Environmental Quality, which is chaired by James Connaughton, a lawyer who formerly represented the asbestos industry.


THE LONG-TERM effects of inhaling contaminated air is unknown. But New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler accuses the administration of covering up a potential health danger in order to get the economy up and running. “Many people will die early because of this,” says Nadler.

In her first interview since the release of the report, Whitman tells NEWSWEEK that she did not object when the White House edited out cautionary notes by EPA scientists. “We didn’t want to scare people,” she said, explaining that spikes in asbestos readings tended to return quickly to acceptable levels. She believes that much of the data were open to interpretation, and that the public wasn’t harmed by the White House’s decision to adopt the more reassuring analysis. But New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is calling for an investigation, saying she knows how the White House works and that somebody surely leaned on the EPA to lie. “We were not told to lie,” says Whitman.



more......................

http://www.msnbc.com/news/959496.asp

[pfitz59]

1. And where is the 2004 GOP convention being held?

"We didn't want to scare people!" Too late, you Bushistas are scaring the shit outta the entire world!

[JohnOneillsMemory]

3. The '04 GOP convention should get a dose of the same toxic shit

that was 'safe' in the air at Ground Zero since it wasn't a problem!!
Not dangerous? Fine, have a faceful yourself, BushNazi.

[IggleDoer]

33. Is the EPA's responsibility not to scare people?

Or is it to tell the truth? They are supposed to protect our health. What are supposed to believe now? Can't brelieve the BFEE!

[Forkboy]

2. Suuuuuuuuure

I believe you Christine :freak:

[JohnOneillsMemory]

4. It's all about Asbestos, CHENEY, Halliburton, and ASBESTOS.

Cheney is a truly 'toxic personality.'

[indepat]

41. Cheney, Halliburton, and asbes-

tos says it all!

[Flying_Pig]

5. Whitman is a lying....

(censored, censored), and a (cenosred, censored). So, (censored, censored) her. I hope she roasts in hell, and spends her nights seeing the faces of those whose early deaths she caused through her prevarication and willingness to be a whore for this illegal regime. In essence, she is a murderer, plain and simple, just like her boss. Isn't there EVEN ONE gawdamn person in this regime with morals, and who isn't a filthy, lying, murdering, piece of stinking human garbage?
:mad:

[Kool Kitty]

7. Correct, Flying_Pig.

But I'm not going to censor it. She is a lying bitch. Perhaps this is why she needed to "spend more time with her family"?

[tlcandie]

13. Those with even a hint of conscious ... resign ... Flying Pig ..

n/t

[iam]

23. Nope

Nope

[Hand]

38. Um....

Flying Pig wrote:

>In essence, she is a murderer, plain and simple, just like her boss.
>Isn't there EVEN ONE gawdamn person in this regime with morals, and who
>isn't a filthy, lying, murdering, piece of stinking human garbage?
>

Gimme a sec here... the answer is... No. Nope, they're all that way. Every one of them without exception.

[markses]

6. "Many people will die early because of this"

Since I was in the dust cloud of the WTC at South Street and Old Slip (WTC2 Collapse) and the Brooklyn Bridge on ramp (WTC 1 collapse), and since I went back to work on Broad Street (south of Wall, obviously) on Monday, September 17, in the acrid and horrid stench (greeted by military coming off the M train at Broad and Wall, since the N or R to Whitehall/South Ferry were not running)), and since I continued to go to work in that location, day in and day out, in the sick and corrupted air, I'm guessing I would be one of those people who will die early because of this....

[Flying_Pig]

10. I am so sorry to hear this....

As a victim myself (nuclear weapons testing caused cancer, etc.) of government lies, I know how you feel. The only things we can do, is push for an investigation, and then demand that those who were exposed be given all the FREE medical care they need, and settlements that provide a measure of justice.

Nothing can take back what they've done, but we need to do not only the above, but those who were responsible (including Bush) need to be put on trial for their crimes. Murder is murder, and in essence, that is what their lies will have caused. If I were you, I would be writing all of my reps every day, demanding justice!!

[berry]

29. One things that should be done immediately is to start testing

children whose schools are in the affected areas. I'm no expert, but I've read that children are the most vulnerable to toxins. And maybe initially, for adults, a walk-in test center that people who are worried about how they were affected can document their toxin-levels, and then get treated if possible. (Can levels of asbestos be measured? I know lead can be....)

It's interesting that the EPA's instinctive response to the possibility of people being endangered is EXACTLY the same as the response of large corporations accused of polluting and worse. Some watchdog agency that is! Hah!

Oh--and poster #1 is right. The excuse that they wanted to avoid scaring people is shit. Scaring people has been the whole agenda ever since 9-11. But they were worried almost immediately about the economic impact--and people were just, well, not as important. I wonder if Giuliani was consulted about this EPA report. I wonder how the firefighters and other aid workers who streamed into NYC to help feel about this carelessness of their welfare, too.

[Cheswick2.0]

16. Man , that stinks

I am so sorry to hear you were there. I don't even know what to say.

[stickdog]

17. Jesus, markses, that blows.

If you combine this with BushCo's suppression of the EPA's scheduled warnings about the 2-4% tremolite asbestos (the most carcinogenic kind) in WR Grace's vermiculite (most notoriously sold in huge quantities in Zonolite insulation), BushCo's culpability will be in the millions.

[rucky]

8. 9/11 Will Forever Be In New Yorkers' Hearts, Minds...

...and LUNGS

They knowingly endanger peoples' health because they don't want to scare them?

Thanks again, White House. I hope you all choke on the shit that just keeps spewing from your mouths.

[Nottingham]

9. New York will be seeing Increased Death rates due to

Asbestosis!

Its coming and the administration Knows it is. :bounce:

Heres the Question?

How many New Yorkers are gonna die from this!

Maybe hitting the WTC was worse than a Nuclear Bomb :nuke:

[Raenelle]

11. He gassed his own people? No, they're blue state people.

n/t

[pfitz59]

36. The people 'TURNING BLUE' state!

as the asbestos clogs their lungs............

[2cents]

12. Give her credit

She can cross her fingers and toes undetected.

[PeakOil2008]

14. Get Cheney

He's the f*cking bastard who has been supressing all the inquiries and investigations of 9-11. It's long overdue that we demand an investigation of him. What is he hiding?

[Not a robought]

15. So how would she go about interpreting

pulminary disease increases I wonder? There's not much of a variance when someone is fucking dead! Morans.

[Flying_Pig]

18. A needed Sunday morning...

:kick:

[dofus]

19. Remember how Bush took until Friday

to go to NYC? (Even though Bill Clinton made it from Australia to NYC in about 24 hours) When I heard the recent news about the suppression of truth about the toxic air, one of my very first thoughts was, "No wonder W didn't go any sooner!" And that would account for why he spent so very short a time there that day.

[DoYouEverWonder]

20. And rarely ever goes there

How many time has W been to NYC since 9-11? Once, twice? This is a city that is a short hop from DC, not far from where he went to collage and he avoids the place like the plaque. Now we know why.

[TahitiNut]

25. Perhaps someone could figure out a way ...

... of piping air with exactly the same levels and kind of pollutants into the Republican Convention next year? After all, they claim it's safe. Put up or shut up?

[donsu]

27. I was thinking along those lines

nt

[radfringe]

21. reported quote incomplete

reported quote: ‘We Were Not Told to Lie’ About 9/11 and Health

:evilgrin: completed quote: ‘We Were Not Told to Lie’ About 9/11 and Health...but we lied anyways.... :evilgrin:

[kainah]

34. "We were not told to lie" sounds a lot like "I am not a crook" n/t

[rocktivity]

22. Just what the NYC economy needs--billions of dollars worth of liability

Nobody told you to lie? You mean you did it on your own, or are you lying now to protect the Pretzel-Dunce?

You didn't want to SCARE people? You mean you decided that they'd PREFER to risk their lives? Now billions of dollars in taxpayer money is will have to go towards defending and paying off lawsuits instead. Or was your ulterior motive to cause the kind of anti-Democrat ill will in New York the way you did in California?

EPA’s former ombudsman said soon after 9/11 that Whitman had a conflict of interest because of her husband’s connection to Citigroup, which owns Travelers Insurance. By pronouncing lower Manhattan safe, critics say, Whitman saved the insurance giant millions in cleanup costs. Whitman was cleared of the conflict by the EPA inspector general. “There’s no way in hell—excuse my language—that I would ever, ever play games with this kind of information.”
As head of the EPA, didn't Whitman OUTRANK the EPA inspector general and ombudsman? And I can think of a way in hell--if the people who outranked Whitman told you to!


rocknation

[DoYouEverWonder]

24. Here it is from the horses mouth

This document is located on the EPA's website. Grab it while it's still there:

http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=54667

Exposure And Human Health Evaluation Of Airborne Pollution From The World Trade Center Disaster (External Review Draft)

<skip>

The analysis in this report supports three general findings: 1) Persons exposed to the extremely high levels of ambient particulate matter and its components during the collapse of the World Trade Center towers and for several hours afterwards were likely to be at risk for immediate acute (and possibly chronic) respiratory and other types (e.g., cardiovascular) of symptoms. 2) The first measurements of some of the contaminants were on September 14, while other contaminants were not measured until September 23. Available data suggest that the concentrations within and near Ground Zero were likely to be highest in the few days following September 11. Because there are only limited data on these critical few days, exposures and potential health impacts cannot be evaluated with certainty for this time period. 3) Except for exposures on September 11 and possibly during the next few days, persons in the surrounding community were unlikely to suffer short-term or long-term adverse health effects caused by exposure to elevations in ambient air concentrations of the contaminants evaluated in this report. These elevated concentrations were measured mostly within and near Ground Zero, and they lasted for one to three months after September 11. The monitoring data indicate that air concentrations decreased to background levels that are characteristic of pre-September 11 levels in the New York City metropolitan area by around January or February of 2002.


Excuse me? persons in the surrounding community were unlikely to suffer short-term or long-term adverse health effects caused by exposure to elevations in ambient air concentrations of the contaminants evaluated in this report.

[nostamj]

26. “We didn’t want to scare people” what BS

as someone who walked in that cloud and lated watched as bits of paper continued to fall out of the smoke that extended over my Brooklyn apartment, this story has special resonance.

about the only thing the bush administration is good at (other than the transfer of America's wealth to it's corporate backers) is scaring the people with lies.

the very LEAST that should have been done was supplying and strongly promoting the use of masks for anyone who HAD to be in the area.

this decision, as all bush administration decisions, was about what was best for private business, not the public.

[diamond14]

28. how EPA manipulated the chemical data......

1. No effort to protect the public or the rescuers were made in the first days. EPA has many emergency response guidance documents, and the whole area should have been evacuated IMMEDIATELY, due to the serious dangers to human health. (don't forget that the EPA offices were HEPA Vacuumed, even though outside the 'toxic' zone tested by EPA).

2. NO samples were taken until AFTER it had rained, which washes a lot of the toxins into the sewers...making it look like no exposures had occurred.

3. Sample only at a few areas. This will prevent ever having proper data. As shown below, there were only TWELVE data locations (for FULL DAY samples) used to model the pollution from Volatile Organic Chemicals, and these are NOT broken down by the HOURLY exposures, but rather reported as the full day. EPA would DEMAND more data points than that for the most minor cleanups on Superfund sites.

scroll down to MAP of World Trade center testing points
http://www.epa.gov/wtc/voc/

4. Did NOT test for all major regulated chemicals. Notice on this list, the 120 Chemicals listed by EPA as Semi-volatile Organic (SVOC) Chemicals are NOT EVEN LISTED. Many of the SVOC's are chemicals that come from PLASTICS and PLASTICS BURNING.

Here's the list of chemicals that were tested for. http://www.epa.gov/wtc/monitoring.html


5. An example of ONE chemical (vinyl chloride) from the VOC list
data link for EPA Volative Organic Chemicals (VOC)

scroll down to MAP of World Trade Center testing points.
http://www.epa.gov/wtc/voc/

The typical approach was to take ONE grab sample, and if that sample was OK, no further sampling was undertaken. If the ONE sample was bad, then additional samples were taken, averaged with the original data, until a 'below detection' number could be reported, or a "spike" was reported as a statistically abnormality. After the grab samples showed 'not detected' months after 9/11, then take a FULL DAY sample and report the 'not detected' on the EPA formal report. The EPA used only 12 sampling locations to determine exposures to "vinyl chloride", a nasty carcinogen created from the burning plastics...

Here's an example:
http://oaspub.epa.gov/nyr/voc_monitoring.display_results?p_addr_id=0360610521&p_voc=VINYL%20CHLORIDE

NO samples were taken until September 19, 2001...and HIGH levels of vinyl chloride were found (likely depending on the wind direction and the location of the sampler). NO full day samples were taken until December 2, 2001...at which time, reporting as "non-detected"...

Another Typical example: (notice date, 16 days after 9/11), ONE sample
-------------------------------------
Monitoring Data:
Liberty & Broadway
VOC (Vinyl Chloride) Air Monitoring Data

Full Day Samples

Date
Measurement*

27-SEP-01 Not Detected

*The information contained in this database should be considered provisional and may be subject to adjustment upon final analysis.
-------------------------------------

http://oaspub.epa.gov/nyr/voc_monitoring.display_results?p_addr_id=0360610254&p_voc=VINYL%20CHLORIDE

[scipan]

39. In other words..

they cooked the data.

[diamond14]

42. all respectable scientists were raising hell about it too...so I'm

happy that some of the bigger news media are bringing it to people's attention...the saddest part is that the damage is done...

the damage to people's lungs, skin, eyes, kidneys, livers and brains will continue to show up over the years....and without adequate data, the EPA (and Christie Todd's investors) can play the old game of 'it wasn't the WTC that caused your lung cancer...it wasn't the WTC that caused your child's leukemia" must have been something else...sad, really sad....

shrub and his whole cabal should be in jail....the failure to warn people in NY, and the failure to evacuate the area is a crime against humanity...no spin, no media cover-up will ever be able to hide the upcoming waves of long-term disabilities, cancers and other diseases from the burning plastics, and the dusts from the WTC....

[enki23]

30. they didn't need to lean on the epa. whitman was head of it.

they just had to make a friendly suggestion that they consider saying something other than the truth. that's all.

[diamond14]

32. look at these numbers for styrene, burning styrene...

someone needs to GRAB these EPA test results...because EPA will soon be changing those results as more of their criminal acts become apparent....

you can 'spin' chemical data, but that doesn't change the FACT that these exposures will KILL people or create lifelong severe medical disabilities...the cost for these criminal acts is yet to be determined...BOOT bush* in 2004 ( http://www.democrats.org )


scoll down to the first samples taken after 09/11/01...it is shocking and criminal that EPA did not warn people living in the area...pregnant women, children exposed 24 hours a day to MULTIPLE toxic chemicals all at the same time (synergistic exposures)...there can be no doubt that such exposures are even worse than just exposure to ONE chemical at a time...

http://oaspub.epa.gov/nyr/voc_monitoring.display_results?p_addr_id=0360610513&p_voc=STYRENE

[Robin Hood]

31. Can't wait for that GOP convention in New York.

It's going to be a real "blast".

[farmboxer]

35. The Truth To A Republican Is Like A Cross To A Vampire!

Only the extremely rich are human to Bush and his pals! "We the people" are all subhuman.

[donsu]

37. oh that's good!

:)

[Flying_Pig]

40. again

:kick:

[cthrumatrix]

43. But...but...but...Bush said he's all for transparency with his admin....

he would never mislead us.......