Mike, Did this effect you?
Ray ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Gurstein" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2003 12:46 AM Subject: [Futurework] EPA Watchdog Rips White House on NYC Air > > A lot of people are going to feel very very betrayed. > > MG > > > > EPA Watchdog Rips White House on NYC Air > > 2 hours, 37 minutes ago Add U.S. Government - AP to My Yahoo! > > > By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer > > WASHINGTON - At the White House's direction, the Environmental > Protection Agency (news - web sites) gave New Yorkers misleading > assurances that there was no health risk from the debris-laden air after > the World Trade Center collapse, according to an internal inquiry. > > > > President Bush (news - web sites)'s senior environmental adviser on > Friday defended the White House involvement, saying it was justified by > national security. > > > The White House "convinced EPA to add reassuring statements and delete > cautionary ones" by having the National Security Council control EPA > communications in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, according to > a report issued late Thursday by EPA Inspector General Nikki L. Tinsley. > > > > "When EPA made a Sept. 18 announcement that the air was 'safe' to > breathe, the agency did not have sufficient data and analyses to make > the statement," the report says, adding that the EPA had yet to > adequately monitor air quality for contaminants such as PCBs, soot and > dioxin. > > > In all, the EPA issued five press releases within 10 days of the attacks > and four more by the end of 2001 reassuring the public about air > quality. But it wasn't until June 2002 that the EPA determined that air > quality had returned to pre-Sept. 11 levels - well after respiratory > ailments and other problems began to surface in hundreds of workers > cleaning dusty offices and apartments. > > > The day after the attacks, former EPA Deputy Administrator Linda > Fisher's chief of staff e-mailed senior EPA officials to say that "all > statements to the media should be cleared" first by the National > Security Council, which is Bush's main forum for discussing national > security and foreign policy matters with his senior aides and Cabinet, > the inspector general's report says. > > > Approval from the NSC, the report says, was arranged through the White > House Council on Environmental Quality, which "influenced, through the > collaboration process, the information that EPA communicated to the > public through its early press releases when it convinced EPA to add > reassuring statements and delete cautionary ones." > > > For example, the inspector general found, EPA was convinced to omit > guidance for cleaning indoor spaces and tips on potential health effects > from airborne dust containing asbestos, lead, glass fibers and concrete. > > > > James Connaughton, chairman of the environmental council, which > coordinates federal environmental efforts, said the White House directed > the EPA to add and delete information based on how it should be released > publicly. He said the EPA did "an incredible job" with the World Trade > Center cleanup. > > > "The White House was involved in making sure that we were getting the > most accurate information that was real, on a wide range of activities. > That included the NSC - this was a major terrorist incident," > Connaughton said. > > > "In the back and forth during that very intense period of time," he > added, "we were making decisions about where the information should be > released, what the best way to communicate the information was, so that > people could respond responsibly and so that people had a good relative > sense of potential risk." > > > Andy Darrell, New York regional director of Environmental Defense, an > advocacy group, said the report is indicative of a pattern of White > House interference in EPA affairs. "For EPA to do its job well, it needs > to be allowed to make decisions based on the science and the facts," he > said. > > > Marianne L. Horinko, EPA's acting administrator, said the White House's > role was mainly to help the EPA sift through an enormous amount of > information. > > > "We put out the best information we had, based on just the best data > that we had available at the time," said Horinko, who headed the > agency's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, which oversaw the > World Trade Center environmental monitoring and cleanup. > > > "And it was using our best professional judgment; it was not as a result > of pressure from the White House," she said. "The White House's role was > basically to say, 'Look, we've got data coming in from everywhere. What > benchmarks are we going to use, how are we going to communicate this > data? We can't have this Tower of Babel on the data.'" > > > The EPA inspector general recommended that EPA adopt new procedures so > its public statements on health risks and environmental quality are > supported by data and analysis. Other recommendations include developing > better procedures for indoor air cleanups and asbestos handling in > large-scale disasters. > > > ___ > > > > > > On the Net: > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
