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Greens Call for Investigation and Prosecution of EPA, NSC, White House Officials Who Lied About the Quality of Air Near the 9/11 Site in New York City. |
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Wednesday, August 27, 2003 Contacts: WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "The revelation that the White House pressured the EPA into lying about the quality of air near the 9/11 wreckage deserves the fury and condemnation of every New Yorker -- of every American," said Leslie Farney, candidate for Supervisor of the Town of Warwick, New York, just north of New York City. "The Bush Administration endangered the lives of thousands of people in lower Manhattan, especially the firefighters, construction workers, and others who heroically combed through the wreckage trying to save lives and recover bodies. This news should cancel any remaining doubt about the White House's criminal deception and recklessness." Greens across the United States called for an independent investigation and criminal indictments for White House, National Security Council, and Environmental Protection Agency officials who conspired to deceive the people of New York about the unhealthy state of the air near the World Trade Center site in the months after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The EPA has admitted that it gave the public false information, concealing knowledge of deadly airborne contaminants, under pressure from the NSC. Many people who worked or lived near the site have complained of health problems, especially respiratory difficulty. Christine Todd Whitman, who served as EPA chief at the time, assured New Yorkers that the air around the site was not dangerous, knowing this to be inaccurate. In fact, the air was contaminated with asbestos, fine particles, lead, PCBs, dioxin, fiberglass, and other dangerous substances. The EPA's misinformation saved insurance firms such as Citigroup (which employed her husband, John Whitman) hundreds of millions of dollars from claims filed for respiratory illnesses caused by the contaminated air. "An honest government would have said, 'we don't know what the risk is, but since we know there were exposures to both particulates and mixed toxics, every effort will be made to protect the health of the emergency responders and residents of the affected neighborhoods,'" noted Carol Miller, a Green who taught courses in occupational health at the University of New Mexico for several years. "They could have required self-contained ventilation apparatus, provided clothing on-site so toxics were not taken home to family washing machines, and testing of workers as they finished shifts." "It's no longer news that the Bush Administration has deceived the American people over and over, especially about the reasons to invade Iraq," said Paul Glover of Ithaca, New York, who has announced his candidacy for the national Green Party nomination for president. "A few million Americans were vigilant enough to see through the lies and protested the war, but most citizens gave Bush the benefit of the doubt. They called it their patriotic duty to back the president during the war. But the lies are common knowledge now. Hundreds of American soldiers have been killed, along with thousands of Iraqi civilians. Greens and other patriotic Americans have stood up and said 'Enough!' Who will join us? Where are the outraged reporters and editors? Where are the Democrats?" At its 2003 national meeting in Washington, D.C., the Green Party of the United States called for the impeachment of President Bush, citing the White House's numerous violations of constitutional and international laws and lies justifying the invasion: allegations that Saddam Hussein possessed ready-to-use weapons of mass destruction; that Saddam intended to use them and represented an imminent threat to the U.S.; that evidence existed proving a link between Saddam and al-Qaeda. MORE INFORMATION The Green Party of the United States "The Air Is Thick With Lies" search:
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