EPA Defended in 9/11 Aftermath

Testifying for the first time during a congressional hearing that was established to solely evaluate the EPA’s actions in the after hours on the 9/11 attack former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman claimed she based her actions of declaring the air around Ground Zero ‘safe’ based on the assurances of agency scientist.

Whitman’s testimony directly conflicts a press release issued by the EPA after 9/11 in which Whitman was quoted as saying “results from the agency’s air and drinking water monitoring near the World Trade Center and Pentagon disaster sites indicate that these vital resources are safe.”

Since the destruction at Ground Zero several individuals who worked on or near Ground Zero have become afflicted with respiratory illnesses presumably due to the large amounts of dust/chemicals/contamination that occurred at the site.

Whitman did add that she encouraged individuals to wear respirators and other protective equipment, and that the EPA had no authority or ability to enforce that requirement, and that the agency couldn’t be held responsible for the illnesses suffered by the workers.