Metadish, Fresh from NYC

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Just the facts ma’am.

According to a report released Aug. 22 by the Inspector General (IG) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), despite evidence that deadly contaminants were contained in the WTC debris, including asbestos, lead, glass fibers and concrete, the EPA did not accurately convey information about the potential health hazards these substances posed. According to the report, the White House influenced the final message in the EPA’s air quality statements.

In her report, Inspector General Nikki L. Tinsley wrote that “based on the documentation we reviewed and our discussions with numerous environmental experts, both within and outside of EPA, we do not agree that the agency’s statement on Sept. 18, 2001 that the air was safe to breathe reflected the agency’s best professional advice. In contrast, based on the circumstances outlined in Chapter 2 of the report, it appeared that EPA’s best professional advice was overruled when relaying information to the public in the weeks immediately following the disaster.”

Cause and effect:

The death of a 34-year-old police detective who developed respiratory disease after working at ground zero is “directly related” to Sept. 11, 2001, a New Jersey coroner said in the first known ruling positively linking a death to cleanup work at the World Trade Center site.

“It is felt with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of death in this case was directly related to the 9/11 incident,” wrote Gerard Breton, a pathologist at the Ocean County (N.J.) medical examiner’s office in the Feb. 28 autopsy.

Zadroga, of Little Egg Harbor, N.J., died in January of respiratory failure and had inflammation in his lung tissue due to “a history of exposure to toxic fumes and dust,” Breton wrote.

Senators: Why Did the White House Supress Information about WTC Health Hazards? [Occupational Hazzards]
Detective’s Death Linked To WTC Air [WNBC]

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