In addition to many their work on behalf of the victims of workplace hazards and environmental fallout, these two sites offered the  first and most comprehensive coverage of the environmental issues following the attack on the World Trade Center, 9/11/01:

•    New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health

                   (www.nycosh.org)

 

•     New York Environmental Law and Justice Project

                    (www.nyenvirolaw.org)

 

•     The EPA has posted several documents designed to guide and evaluate the 2002 residential cleanup at their web site: (http://www.epa.gov/wtc/).  Many of these documents create, rather than solve, problems.  Some of this is elucidated from the public commentary.  Some documents can only be found at other sites:

               

             Appendix G, Public Comment and Letters on Draft Report, to the Summary Report of the U.S. EPA Technical Peer Review Meeting on the Draft Document EPA/600/R-03/142, December 2003 [2.3 MB, 119 pages], also referred to as the Versar Peer Review Report, is only available here (http//cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=54667)

               

          

               World Trade Center Indoor Air Assessment Selecting Comments of Public Concern and Setting Health-Based Bench Marks, prepared by the Contaminants of Potential Concern (COPC) Committee of the WTC Indoor Air Taskforce Working Group, in its revised May 2003 edition (the original was reviewed in October 2002), and the WTC Peer Review Final Report, including among the other materials,Appendix C -- Observer Comments, the written public comments submitted at the October 2002 meeting are available here (http//www.tera.org/peer/wtc/)

              The original document, dated September 2002, is available here (http//www.tera.org/peer/wtc/COPC%20-%20Final%20-%2009-12-02.pdf)

 

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On August 21 the EPA's Office of the Inspector General published its damning report on the performance of Region 2 EPA following the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01, detailing the role of the White House Council on Environmental Quality:  EPA's Response to the World Trade Center Collapse: Challenges, Successes, and Areas for Improvement, Report No. 2003-P-00012

for more material see  >>>

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The New York City Council again held hearings once again on March 29, 2004 to consider the problems still remaining from the failed EPA response to the WTC disaster.  See the testimony presented by:

Dr. Marjorie Clarke, Ph.D., Scientist in Residence, and Adjunct Assistant Professor, City College of New York, Post-9/11 Remediation of WTC Contamination

Stan Mark, Program Director, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF),

Statement to Support Health Care and Medical Research for Residents of Lwer Eastside and Chinatown

David M. Newman, CIH, NYCOSH, Post-9/11 Lower Manhattan Contamination

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In the winter of 2002, many government hearings were held.  The testimony of the public is recorded:

 

•     EPA National Ombudsman Second Investigative Hearing on World Trade Center Hazardous                              Waste Comtamination, March 11, 2002

 

•          EPA National Ombudsman First Investigative Hearing on World Trade Center Hazardous

                Waste Contamination, February 21, 2002

 

•     U.S. E.P.A. National Ombudsman Robert Martin's Memorandum: Findings to Date, and                          Second Round of Interrogatories, March 27, 2002

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Many independent scientists immediately gave generously of their time in the effort to help the public understand the issues, and to press the government to protect public health:

 

•    Dr. Marjorie J. Clarke, Ph.D., Environmental Scientist and Educator,

    Testimonies on the World Trade Center Disaster

                see "9/11 Air Quality Issues - Chronological Order"

•   Dr. Thomas Cahill, University of California Davis, Department of Applied Science,

          World Trade Center Data

•   Uday Singh, Industrial Hygiene Consultant, www.industrial-hygiene.com

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You may want to consider finding and reading Juan Gonzalez' book documenting the scams as he presents the facts,

 

•     Fallout: The Environmental Consequences of World Trade Center

                    Collapse 

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The latest draft report to characterize the environmental exposure  from the smoke, fumes and dust resulting from the terrorist attack of 9/11/04 and its effects on health comes from the NIEHS WTC Working Group.  This summary of six research studies is reported in Volume 112, Number 6, May 2004, of Environmental Health Perspectives,

 

•    Health and Environmental Perspectives of the World Trade Center, Landrigan et al.

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•    Air levels of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons after the World Trade Center disaster, Pleil, Vette, Johnson, Rappaport et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 101, Number 32, August 10, 2004

 

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Or the report from the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) on Lessons Learned of 9/11: 

•     "Messages in the Dust"

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For 9/11 Environmental Action's original contributions see,

•       About Us     

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Films, TV

•   Vito After, a documentary by Maria Pusateri about a New York City detective, a family man who was just “doing his job.” Vito After is about mourning, coping, living with the “WTC cough” and overcoming denial.

•    Libby, Montana, a High Plains Films documentary about asbestos poisoning and the deaths of more than 200 people

•     Never the Same, a film by Jonathan Levin about the tens of thousands of men and women who literally threw themselves into the dust and smoke in the rescue, recovery, and clean-up efforts in the wake of 9/11.  An alarming proportion of these people face physical and emotional illnesses -- many of which will persist for years -- as well as other health consequences, like cancers, which are likely to develop over time. Yet  nothing has been provided by the US government for their physical and mental health care, while the Workers' Compensation system treats them as malingerers and frauds.

•   "Sierra Club Chronicles," the Sierra Club's new national television series, was launched January 12 on Link TV (airing on DIRECTV channel 375 and Dish Network channel 9410) with a documentary on disaster response at Ground Zero. The program, called "9/11 Forgotten Heroes," shows the experience of four Ground Zero workers who have suffered severe health effects from the World Trade Center pollution.  Episodes are available for online viewing and podcast at www.sierraclubtv.org.

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Many people and organizations have taken a stand on the 9/11 Environmental Disaster or contributed in other ways to uncover the coverup:

 

•    AsthmaMoms

•    Independence Plaza North Tenant's Association

         see in particular its new booklet, "Neighbor to Neighbor, The Downtown Solution . . . "

•    NYC Sierra Club Press Release

•    Stuyvesant High School Parents Organization

•    Be Safe Network

           see also the Press Release on applying precautionary action to 9/11 environmental contamination

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Many existing and new organizations have developed resources for the community:

 

•    New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) Occupational Safety and Health Department

•    The Red Cross

•    The World Trade Center Health Registry

•    World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program

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And there are many environmental organization that have resources we could never duplicate:

•     Community Environmental Health Resource Center 

                    (www.cehrc.org)         

•     Environmental Advocates of New York

               (www.eany.org)

•     New York Public Interest Research Group

                (www.nypirg.org)

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For Information Specifically on Asbestos: see the Asbestos page

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Documents on Public Health, the Environment

•   The Constitution of the World Health Organization

•  The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Principle 15, The

      Precautionary Principle