2004

DECEMBER

• Children's Health Article: The Effects of the World Trade Center Event on Birth Outcomes among Term Deliveries at Three Lower Manhattan Hospitals ... Women in the first trimester of pregnancy at the time of the WTC event delivered infants with significantly shorter gestation (-3.6 days) and a smaller head circumference (-0.48 cm), compared with women at later stages of pregnancy, regardless of the distance of their residence or work sites from the WTC. The observed adverse effects suggest an impact of pollutants and/or stress related to the WTC disaster and have implications for the health and development of exposed children.... (Environmental Health Perspectives, by Sally Ann Lederman, Virginia Rauh, Lisa Weiss, Janet L. Stein, Lori A. Hoepner, Mark Becker, and Frederica P. Perera, December 2004)
• E.P.A. attempts to clarify role at Deutsche Bank ... The Environmental Protection Agency plans to take a leadership role in the deconstruction of the contaminated Deutsche Bank building across from the World Trade Center, although the agency has yet to respond to a letter from the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. calling for the E.P.A. to lead the environmental aspects of the cleanup. ... that agency administrator, Michael Leavitt, has yet to respond to L.M.D.C. president Kevin Rampe's Dec. 13th letter, which followed two letters of a similar nature from United States Rep. Jerrold Nadler. "We're still waiting to hear back from them," she said. "We have not formally responded to their letter," said Mears. "We already have taken a leadership role." ... (Downtown Express, by Ronda Kaysen, Dec. 31, 2004 - Jan. 6, 2005)
  
• Toxic shocks: More deceptions about post-9/11 health threats are emerging (Vermont Guardian, By Albert Huebner, December 30, 2004)
• Demolition Dust Storm ... The Environmental Protection Agency is refusing requests from state and federal officials to police the demolition of the Deutsche Bank building to ensure lower Manhattan isn't poisoned by the toxic dust that's been inside the building since 9/11. The federal agency also shocked government officials and members of its lower Manhattan expert advisory panel when it backtracked last week from a pledge to coordinate responsibilities of all city, state and federal agencies involved in the razing. The EPA said the eight agencies it contacted were not interested in a formal agreement coordinating their efforts. ... Another building, 4 Albany Street, which is owned by Deutsche Bank, is currently having demolition plans drawn up. And CUNY officials hope to have the college's Fiterman Hall, on Barclay Street, demolished as well. ... "This is exactly what happened after 9/11 with the EPA ducking its responsibility," said Nadler. ... "While EPA was not able to finalize a formal memorandum of agreement with our partner agencies, we continue to play a leadership role," Callahan said. ... (NYPost, by Sam Smith, December 26, 2004)
• EPA won't monitor Deutsche Bank demolition ... The Environmental Protection Agency has rejected state and federal requests to monitor the demolition of the Deutsche Bank building, adjacent to Ground Zero, and stepped away from agreements to coordinate with government agencies in the razing of the building. .... (NYPost/AP, December 26, 2004)
• "Gold Standard" for Remediation of WTC Contaminations (New Solutions, by the Technical Working Group, December 22, 2004)
• New York Asks EPA to Oversee Razing of Deutsche Bank Building ... Lower Manhattan redevelopment officials say they want the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take a greater oversight role in the dismantling of the Deutsche Bank tower, which is filled with toxins from the World Trade Center attack. Residents of nearby buildings and U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler asked the U.S. agency to take charge of the demolition and have monitors on the site whenever work is taking place to protect the surrounding neighborhood from accidental contamination. EPA has promised a ``regular'' presence, not a continuous one. ... (Bloomberg News, by David M. Levitt, December 21, 2004)
  
• Rescuer's 9/11 claim is booted ... A World Trade Center worker who rushed from home on Sept. 11, 2001, to help rescue victims of the terror attacks has been denied workers' compensation because he wasn't ordered to the scene by a boss, a court ruled yesterday. The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Port Authority and the state Workers' Compensation Board - and against Christopher Duff's workers' compensation claims for psychological injuries. ... (NY Daily News/AP, 12/17/04)
• New Region 2 EPA director ... The new acting regional director of the federal Environmental Protection Agency once led the Superfund program and was in charge of the organization's response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Kathy Callahan has more than three decades of experience with EPA Region 2, which administers federal environmental programs in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and seven federally recognized Indian nations. Callahan began her new duties Nov. 26, replacing Jane Kenny, who resigned to take a private-sector job. ... (The Journal News, by Laura Incal Caterra, December 17, 2004)
• Characterization of Background Concentrations in Upper Manhattan, New York Apartments for Select Contaminants Identified in World Trade Center Dust ... Residential indoor concentration of asbestos, lead, synthetic vitreous fiber (SVF), crystalline silica, calcite, gypsum, dioxin, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in 25 residences and 9 building-interior common areas in upper Manhattan, NY. This was done to characterize the background levels of contaminants, identified in dust related to the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, at locations that were minimally impacted by the dust fallout. The study was initiated due to the paucity of background concentrations on building-related materials and combustion byproducts in urban residential dwellings. Asbestos, lead, SVF, crystalline silica, and dioxin were detected at very low concentration at some locations, and many samples tested below their respective analysis detection limits. Almost all of the environmental samples for PAHs, calcite, gypsum, and certain other building materials tested below their respective analysis detection limits. A comparative analysis to the limited literature data showed general agreement with the values found in this study. This study provides insight into the levels of these contaminants in lower Manhattan residential buildings prior to the attack, and these data will serve to enhance the available database for characterizing indoor environments for these contaminants. ... A comparison of residential space results to common space results showed that with the exception of alpha-quartz in air, which was higher in the residential spaces, the mean values for the common spaces were similar or greater than the mean values for the residential spaces. Additionally, the frequency of detection was generally higher for the common spaces when compared to the residential spaces. Based on frequency of detection, the most frequently detected compounds in bulk dust samples and wipe samples were lead and alpha-quartz. Additionally, total fibers in the air, based on PCM, were frequently detected. This is in contrast to a much lower frequency of detection of asbestos for air samples using TEM, which can distinguish between asbestos and nonasbestos fibers, and for air samples analyzed for SVF. This indicates that although fibers were detected in the air samples, the majority of the fibers were neither asbestos fibers nor SVF. ... There were some differences observed between the residential spaces and the common spaces, both in frequency of detection and in the measured concentrations. A variety of factors may influence these differences, such as activity patterns, amount of foot traffic, type, and frequency of cleaning. These factors may differ between these spaces, and some combination of these factors may be responsible for this observation. Although there are physical and usage differences between residential and common spaces, the overall results were similar for the two types of spaces. Therefore, assessing exposure to contaminants in indoor environments, at least in this limited study, the results for the two different spaces were combined to estimate concentrations to which an individual may be exposed on a daily basis. ...(Environmental Science & Technology, Published by the American Chemical Society, December 15, 2004, requires membership)
  
• Plan Unveiled for Cleanup of Building at 9/11 Site ... efore the shrouded Deutsche Bank tower opposite ground zero can be taken down, it must first be stripped to its structural bones; cleaned of materials that contain asbestos, World Trade Center dust and other potentially hazardous contaminants. What that means is emptying 40 floors of ceiling tiles, gypsum wallboard, carpeting, sprayed-on fireproofing, fiberglass insulation, bathroom fixtures, built-in cabinetry. It includes taking down the netting that now covers large parts of the tower and erecting the crane that will be used in dismantling the steel framework. ... The plan calls first for the removal of dust and the collection of contaminated materials by workers in protective gear, beginning at the top of the building and working down, with four-floor sections of the tower isolated at any time under "negative pressure." Exhaust systems within these areas will make the air pressure lower than it is outside, so that if the protective barriers develop a leak, contaminated air will not be expelled. (NYTimes, by David W. Dunlap, December 14, 2004)
• LMDC releases plan for deconstruction of damaged bank tower ... NEW YORK (AP) In order to dismantle the steel frame of the badly damaged Deutsche Bank tower, still sitting adjacent to ground zero, workers must empty 40 floors of materials like fiberglass insulation, fireproofing and other items that contain hazardous materials like asbestos and World Trade Center dust. ... (NYNewday, December 14, 2004)
  
• 130 Liberty/Deutsche Bank: Draft Phase I Deconstruction Plan (LMDC, 12/13/04)
• Demolition Of Deutsche Bank Building Moves Forward ... More than three years after it was heavily damaged in the World Trade Center attack, plans for demolishing the Deutsche Bank Building are moving forward. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation on Monday is releasing the first part of the deconstruction plan for the 40-story building. The plan, which is expected to focus on interior cleaning, will be reviewed by regulatory agencies, including the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the city's Department of Buildings. The public will also be able to comment on the plan. ... (NY1, 12/13/04)
  
• Bush nominates Leavitt for health secretary ... President Bush has nominated EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt to replace Tommy Thompson as Health and Human Services secretary. ... (CNN, 12/13/04)
  
• A Study to Evaluate Possible Ongoing Impacts of the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers to the Indoor Environment. ... This talk will describe the study design, the procedure to interpret and act on results of the survey, and the public process used to debate the challenging issues that have arisen. ... (Society for Risk Analysis Conference, December 5-8, 2004 -- Palm Springs, California, M. Maddaloni, M. Lorber; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Response and Recovery Operations Region 2; Office of Research and Development, National Center for Environmental Assessment )
  
• The World Trade Center Health Registry ... Some critics say the money could be better spent on direct services. The registry was intended strictly as a scientific inquiry, with no promises of treatment for enrollees. "There was no direct benefit to individuals" for enrolling, said Health Commissioner Frieden, "but there will be a major direct benefit to New York City as a whole and to other jurisdictions [that] deal with natural or manmade disasters in the future." In other words, registry data might someday help society bone up in preparation for the next 9/11. The problem is, individuals still suffering from the last 9/11 think they are long overdue for some direct benefits. Community members have expressed frustration that some victims of 9/11 struggle with immediate healthcare and financial burdens that have not been addressed to this day. ... (Gotham Gazette, by Michelle Chen, December, 2004)
  

NOVEMBER

• Viewpoint: Anatomy of the 9/11 risk-communication fiasco ... Sept. 11, 2001, awakened Americans to the horrors of terrorism. The images of terror are still vivid, even a few years later. That day, too, the nation also witnessed a new kind of horror, although most people didn't realize it at the time: An environmental health emergency — as well as a communications fiasco in reporting it. With few exceptions, the major media failed to warn the public of the dangers in the smoke and dust following the building collapses. More importantly, the government's communications to the public deliberately downplayed environmental concerns, according to recent investigations, casting a harsh light on what can happen in a terrorist attack. ... (Francesca Lyman, November 2004)
  
• The WTCHR Quarterly Enrollment Update: Data Through Friday, September 10, 2004 (NYCDOHMH, November 2004, Volume 2,1)
• CT scans explain mysterious 9/11 cough ... Inhaling toxic dust from the World Trade Center disaster on 11 September 2001 has damaged some rescue workers' lungs more than years of smoking, US scientists reveal. Using an unconventional chest scan for the circumstances, researchers were able to capture visual signs of the severe respiratory problems that doctors could not otherwise have diagnosed. Hundreds of people have been tested and treated for respiratory problems - or "World Trade Center cough" - since New York City's twin towers fell, most of them suffering from asthma-like breathing difficulties. Some people, however, maintained persistent but unidentifiable coughs that could not be picked up using standard chest computed tomography (CT) scans. ...(NewScientist, by Anna Gosline, 30 November 2004)
  
• USEPA:  Response to WTC Community 7 Principles letter ... Key Findings: Nearly half of adult enrollees reported new or worsened sinus problems/nose irritation/post nasal irritation (47%) after 9/11/01; Other common respiratory complaints included shortness of breath (42%), wheezing (38%); persistent cough (37%), and throat irritation (38%); One in four enrollees (26%) reported new or worsened heartburn, indigestion or reflux symptoms. ... (November 30, 2004)
• Air Trapping Detected on End-Expiratory High Resolution CT in Symptomatic World Trade Center (WTC) Rescue and Recovery Workers ... Air Trapping Detected on End-Expiratory High Resolution CT in Symptomatic World Trade Center (WTC) Rescue and Recovery Workers (Radiological Society of North America, Inc., 11/30/04)
• 9/11 helpers sue feds over air quality 'lies' ... Several Ground Zero workers sued the federal government yesterday for allegedly lying about air quality after the World Trade Center attacks. The suit accuses officials of the Environmental Protection Agency of making misleading public statements about the level of dangerous contaminants released into the air after the twin towers were destroyed in a terror strike. ... Their attorneys are asking a judge to classify the case as a class action to include all workers sent to Ground Zero after the attacks. Among those named as defendants are former EPA director Christie Whitman and officials from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. "These people had symptoms that just didn't fit the typical pattern. They weren't treated at first because there wasn't any objective evidence of what was wrong," says lead author David Mendelson at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, US. So Mendelson's team turned to a technique called end-expiratory CT. In a normal chest scan, patients are asked to take a deep breath and hold it. In end-expiratory scans, patients take in a deep breath and release it slowly. In a healthy individual, the entire chest should be seen on the scan as an even grey colour -- the CT representation of moving air. The doctors scanned 29 rescue and recovery workers with unexplained symptoms. In 25 of these they saw splotchy black patches deep down in the finer, branching tubes of their airways. Black spots mean that air is trapped and stagnating in the lungs, making it difficult for the patients to breathe freely. Pulverised cement: In order to gauge the severity of the air-trapping pattern, the authors developed a visual scale that ranged from 0 to 24. Mendelson says that smokers would probably fall somewhere between 0 to 4 on his scale. The World Trade Center rescue workers, however, averaged 10.55. The extent of air trapping was found to reflect the amount of time each worker was exposed to the dust and debris of the buildings' collapse. The most likely culprit behind this type of airway disease is pulverised alkaline cement, says Mendelson, who presented his findings at the Radiological Society of North America's meeting in Chicago on Tuesday. All of the subjects are now being treated with anti-inflammatory drugs.Richard Russell, of the British Thoracic Society in London, UK, is not surprised by the degree of lung tissue damage caused by exposure to the fine cement dust, which is capable of penetrating deeply into the lungs and damaging the delicate tissues found there. But he warns that the rescue workers" breathing problems might be permanent: "This is a physical problem that's not going to go away with simple anti-inflammatories," he says. "We'll just have to watch and see if the patients get better over time and make sure they're not smoking." .... (NY Daily News, by Thomas Zambito, 11/24/04)
• New acting regional administrator for EPA ... Kathy Callahan has been named the new acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency region that includes New York state. Callahan replaces Jane Kenny whose previously announced retirement takes effect on Nov. 26.... (Business Review, 11/24/04)
  
• Thousands Near 9/11 Attack Reported Ill Effects, U.S. Says ... More than three years after the World Trade Center was destroyed, city health officials released data yesterday from a two-year study showing that thousands of people in the vicinity of the towers on Sept. 11, 2001, said they had increased respiratory problems and suffered higher rates of emotional ... (NYTimes, by Marc Santora, November 23, 2004)
  
• Thousands Near 9/11 Attack Reported Ill Effects, U.S. Says ... More than three years after the World Trade Center was destroyed, city health officials released data yesterday from a two-year study showing that thousands of people in the vicinity of the towers on Sept. 11, 2001, said they had increased respiratory problems and suffered higher rates of emotional ... None of the registry members received medical examinations as part of the survey, and there is no federal treatment program currently available for those who may be ill. .. In fact, financing for treatment, as well as the federal government's initial reaction to possible air quality problems around ground zero, have been heatedly debated since the Environmental Protection Agency announced soon after the attack that it was safe to return to the area.... (NYTimes, 11/23/04)
• NYDIS & Mount Sinai Collaborate to Distribute Urgently Needed Assistance to WTC Ground Zero Recovery Workers: WTC Rescue & Recovery Workers to Benefit from Pilot Project Launched to Provide Metrocards for Doctor's Visits, and Food and Clothing Vouchers this Holiday Season ... New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS) today announced a new grant program to assist WTC Ground Zero Recovery workers who are now unable to meet their basic needs, in many cases because their medical condition has become so severe. They now suffer from chronic health effects as a result of their recovery work at Ground Zero. These WTC rescue and recovery responders are receiving care through the Mount Sinai Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine's (COEM) privately supported World Trade Center Health Effects Treatment Program. Thanks to the generosity of Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), NYDIS has been awarded $375,000 to help recovery workers and volunteers meet basic needs. Many are now unable to work at all and some are without appropriate health insurance, rendering them unable to provide for themselves and their families. ... (NYDisaster Interfaith Services, November 23, 2004)
  
• Many face lung woes after 9/11 ... Most of the 70,000 people who worked or lived near Ground Zero suffered from wheezing, shortness of breath or coughing spells after the 2001 terror attack, a report released yesterday shows. About 8% of those interviewed said they continue to experience "psychological distress." The data offers the first glimpse into the World Trade Center Health Registry, which was created to track the health of 9/11 rescue workers, volunteers and nearby residents. In releasing the first quarterly report yesterday, Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said the results were "not surprising." "What this shows is that tens of thousands of people had significant lung symptoms around the time of exposure to the WTC," he said. Between half to two-thirds of the registered adults had at least one symptom after the attack, and many reported multiple respiratory problems, a Health Department spokesman said. Specifically, 44% of the men and 50% of the women reported sinus problems, nasal or postnasal irritation. In addition, 41% of the men and 43% of the women reported shortness of breath. The inquiry so far has focused only on symptoms people experienced directly after the attacks - not on whether the problems lingered. "We have no final determination of whether these problems are continuing to this day," Frieden said.(NYDaily News, by Lisa L. Colangelo, November 23, 2004)
• 9/11 worsened people's respiratory symptoms (Medical News Today, 23 Nov 2004)
• NYDIS & Mount Sinai Collaborate to Distribute Urgently Needed Assistance to WTC Ground Zero Recovery Workers ... WTC Rescue & Recovery Workers to Benefit from Pilot Project Launched to Provide Metrocards for Doctor's Visits, and Food and Clothing Vouchers this Holiday Season ... (November 23, 2004)
  
• Induced Sputum Assessment in New York City Firefighters Exposed to World Trade Center Dust ... New York City Firefighters (FDNY-FFs) were exposed to particulate matter and combustion/ pyrolysis products during and after the World Trade Center (WTC) collapse. Ten months after the collapse, induced sputum (IS) samples were obtained from 39 highly exposed FDNY-FFs (caught in the dust cloud during the collapse on 11 September 2001) and compared to controls to determine whether a unique pattern of inflammation and particulate matter deposition, compatible with WTC dust, was present. ... In conclusion, IS from highly exposed FDNY-FFs demonstrated inflammation, PSD, and particle composition that was different from nonexposed controls and consistent with WTC dust exposure.(Environmental Health Prespectives, by Elizabeth M. Fireman,1,2,3 Yehuda Lerman,3,4 Eliezer Ganor,5 Joel Greif,1,3 Sharon Fireman-Shoresh,6 Paul J. Lioy,7, Gisela I. Banauch,8,9 Michael Weiden,8,10 Kerry J. Kelly,8 and David J. Prezant8,9, November 2004)
• Most WTC Health Registry Enrollees Reported New or Worsened Respiratory Symptoms After 9/11: Data also show mental health symptoms present among enrollees at significantly higher rate than NYC average; further analyses needed to determine whether health symptoms persisted post-9/11/01 ... (NYCDOHMH News Release, November 22, 2004)
• E.P.A. waits for permission to test its offices ... The Environmental Protection Agency's "World Trade Center environmental retesting plan' is mired in bureaucracy delays, and the agency has not even received permission to test its own Lower Manhattan offices. At a Nov. 15 E.P.A. Expert Technical Review Panel meeting, representatives from the E.P.A. announced that in order for the agency to identify a "signature' -- a defining trait that differentiates W.T.C. disaster dust from regular New York City dust -- it needs access to buildings both near the W.T.C. disaster and far outside of the dust plume's reach. ... (Downtown Express, By Ronda Kaysen, Nov. 19 - 25, 2004)
  
• FEDS' WTC PLAN SCRUBS CLEANUP FOR DOWNTOWN ... The federal government doesn't want to do any more windows -- even if they're still contaminated from the World Trade Center attacks. Three years after the Twin Towers' collapse and eight months after convening an expert panel to plan further 9/11 cleanups, the Environmental Protection Agency is offering a new proposal to test for hazardous material downtown -- but it doesn't include a cleanup plan. That's a change from the agency's previous approach to downtown contamination -- and, critics say, a fatal flaw "There has to be a commitment from the EPA that there will be proper cleanup afterwards," said Catherine McVay Hughes, a downtown resident and member of the expert panel, which also included scientists and government employees. "With no guarantee, I would not participate, and I don't think smart New Yorkers would." ... (NYPost, by Sam Smith, by November 14, 2004)
• EPA May Change WTC Decontamination Policy ... Some Lower Manhattan buildings that may have been contaminated by the destruction of the World Trade Center may not be cleaned if the federal government gets its way. According to the New York Post, the Environmental Protection Agency is offering new proposals to test for hazardous material Downtown, but the plans make no mention cleanup. Dropping a cleanup plan would run counter agency's previous approach to decontamination efforts in Lower Manhattan. Critics say the EPA's new proposals are flawed and not comprehensive. An EPA spokesperson told the Post that it's presumptuous to discuss cleanup efforts when it's unclear if contamination still exists. The report also says the city is balking at further cleanup plans because of the cost and possible lawsuits. (NY1, November 14, 2004)
• Viewpoint: Anatomy of the 9/11 risk-communication fiasco ... Many New Yorkers and observers of the issue came to feel -- and continue to feel — that the government misled the public, prompting the press to leave the subject alone, and causing a buildup of public distrust. Thousands of workers and residents still suffer respiratory ailments from breathing the contaminated air.[7] So how the government responded two years ago is more than just an academic question. ... Congressman Nadler and other advocates in downtown New York say they feel vindicated by the EPA inspector general's two reports and are glad they were finally released. But Nadler points out that while EPA has now vowed to do a better job of risk communicating in the future, the agency has refused to solve the glaring failing identified in the IG report: A full cleanup of the dust in New York, as required under presidential directive after a terrorist incident. (Society of Environmetnal Journalists, by Francesca Lyman, November 2004)
  
• New Study Puts Sept. 11 Payout at $38 Billion ... The study also found that about $660 million was distributed to people who sought help because of exposure to dust and other potential health hazards near ground zero. Again, the federal fund, known as the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, provided the bulk of the compensation - roughly $380 million tax-free. But as a caveat, the study warned that "a major unknown is whether resources will be available to pay for health care for respiratory injuries that might appear in the future." ...(NYTimes, November 9, 2004)
• Vote Awaited on Choice of Firm to Restore Fiterman Hall Near Ground Zero ... The fate of Fiterman Hall in Lower Manhattan, which has been unclear since the building was badly damaged during the attack on the World Trade Center, may be settled this month with a choice of architects to design its replacement.... board of trustees of the City University of New York, which will vote on the matter in three weeks. Fiterman Hall serves the Borough of Manhattan Community College, a unit of CUNY. ... Estimates to replace the building have ranged up to $274 million, though it may be lower. Insurance will pay for some of the project, but full financing - perhaps the key impediment - has not been entirely settled. ... Fiterman Hall, however, remains a wreck. Much of its south facade is exposed as a structural skeleton, sections of white brick alternating with gaping dark holes. Black netting shrouds some of the building. ... (NYTimes, by David Dunlap, by November 9, 2004)
  
• E.P.A.'s 9/11 leader to leave: Change for the Clinton-Bush panel unveiled the day after the election ... Paul Gilman, chairperson of the E.P.A. World Trade Center Expert Technical Panel will resign at the end of the month to the surprise of many -- and relief of some. Gilman, also the assistant administrator for research and development for the Environmental Protection Agency, will leave the agency on Nov. 30, according to Michael Brown, a spokesperson for the E.P.A. As head of the panel, Gilman steered 16 government and independent experts in devising recommendations for the E.P.A. to measure the environmental impact of the World Trade Center disaster. The panel was well received by community leaders who had criticized the agency's initial response to 9/11 and its subsequent program to clean and test Downtown apartments for asbestos. Gilman and his colleagues indicated in July that they were moving to institute a new testing program that included apartments, offices, firehouses and schools south of Houston St. opposed to the first program, which only included apartments up to Canal St. At the time Gilman told Downtown Express that it would cost about $12,000 per unit and no more than $9.6 million in total. The program was called a step in the right direction by many E.P.A. critics, but the agency has not yet approved the plan and advocates are beginning to step up the pressure to have it implemented. ... "The panel's work is not complete, but I have received assurances from E.P.A. that the panel will continue uninterrupted after Dr. Gilman's departure," Senator Clinton said in a statement e-mailed to Downtown Express. Clinton, who got the E.P.A. to create the panel by holding up the Senate confirmation of E.P.A. administrator Michael Leavitt last year, added that "the panel has made progress" during Gilman's tenure. ... "Is this going to lead us to the E.P.A. taking proper action or is this going to lead us to have to make a dramatic regrouping?" said Kimberly Flynn, member of 9/11 Environmental Action. Gilman and the panel, she said, were generally responsive to community concerns, although the results that come back each month from the E.P.A. often do not reflect what have been discussed and agreed upon at the previous month's meeting. "We have two kinds of experiences with the panel. A lot of the panelists agree with the community at the meetings," she said. "In between meetings, ground that the community feels it has gained washes out." ... Brown said that Gilman waited until after the election to leave so it wouldn't be characterized as political. "In the vein of the 'Godfather,' he was made an offer that was too good to refuse in September," said Brown. Gilman decided, "The timing would be better if he waited until after the election. He didn't want others to characterize it as something other than it is," said Brown.... (Downtown Express, by Ronda Kaysen, Nov. 5 - Nov. 12, 2004)
• EPA Science Advisor Stepping Down ... Dr. Paul Gilman, EPA's Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development and the Agency's Science Advisor, has announced that he is stepping down at the end of November to accept a private sector opportunity. ... (News Release, November 4th, 2004)
  
• Research Chief Resignation Marks First EPA Departure In Expected Exodus ... EPA research chief Paul Gilman is the first of numerous political appointees expected to leave the agency following President Bush's reelection to a second term, after many of the appointees postponed their departures until after the election, agency and other sources say. Gilman, who served as assistant administrator (AA) of the Office of Research & Development, was also appointed as the agency's top science advisor by former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman and continued in that role under current Administrator Mike Leavitt. Gilman sent a memo announcing his departure on the morning of Nov. 3, as it became clear Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) would not be able to win the state of Ohio. The memo is available on InsideEPA.com. The sources say many appointees delayed desired departures after the White House asked them last year, as the Bush re-election campaign was beginning, to stay with the administration until after the election. Some career staff may also speed their departures from the agency because of disappointment with the administration's policy priorities and unwillingness to work again under what they consider an environmentally unfriendly administration, agency sources say. ... (Inside EPA, Vol. 25, No. 25, November 5, 2004, password required)
  
• Review of Conflict of Interest Allegations Pertaining to the Peer Review of EPA's Draft Report, "Exposure and Human Health Evaluation of Airborne Pollution from the World Trade Center Disaster" ... (Report No. 2005-S-00003, November 4, 2004)
• Special Report Review of Conflict of Interest AllegationsPertaining to the Peer Review of EPA's Draft Report, "Exposure and Human Health Evaluation of Airborne Pollution from the World Trade Center Disaster" (Report No. 2005-S-00003 November 4, 2004)
• EPA Science Advisor Stepping Down ... WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Dr. Paul Gilman, EPA's Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development and the Agency's Science Advisor, has announced that he is stepping down at the end of November to accept a private sector opportunity.... (U.S. Newswire, 11/04/04)
• Research director resigns on heels of Bush victory ... In the first of what could be a number of changes at the U.S. EPA under a second Bush administration, the agency's top research official stepped down from his post this morning just as news of President Bush's re-election was announced. Paul Gilman, EPA's assistant administrator for research and development, offered few details about his decision to leave EPA effective Nov. 30. In a formal announcement, Gilman said he informed President Bush of his decision this morning, following up with an e-mail to agency employees this afternoon.The Bush administration has met fierce criticism from environmental groups and many in the academic community for its positions on a range of environmental issues ... In recent statements, Gilman has included among his staff's greatest accomplishments the confirmation of links between human health and exposure to fine particulate matter (PM). Through more sophisticated measurement and air modeling tools, Gilman said EPA has been able to achieve even greater certainty about where and how individuals are exposed to PM. ... (Greenwire, by Marty Coyne, November 3, 2004, password required)
• Critics Say Unclear EPA Role At Ground Zero May Undermine Cleanup ... EPA critics say the agency's recent reluctance to outline its possible indoor cleanup responsibilities for parts of Manhattan affected by the World Trade Center attacks three years ago may undermine upcoming efforts to test the area for contamination, since property owners and businesses may avoid testing if it could require them to pay for cleanups. EPA last month revised its plan for testing indoor air in lower Manhattan in response to recommendations by an agency-convened panel of experts, which included broadening the geographical scope and type of pollutants to be tested. But a coalition of labor unions, community groups and environmentalists is strongly opposing the agency's revised plan, saying it does not include an adequate cleanup commitment by EPA, which could undermine the testing effort if it remains unclear who will pay for an eventual solution at the site. EPA is seeking comment on the draft sampling plan and will discuss public response at an advisory panel meeting Nov. 15. EPA will begin recruiting Manhattan participants for the expanded testing next year, an agency source says. ... But the group's effort is drawing support from key New York lawmakers Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Sen. Hillary Clinton, Democrats who both issued statements last week calling on EPA to pledge to a cleanup. While agency critics and congressional sources acknowledge EPA is significantly expanding its testing plans, they are concerned the plan lacks any detail on how EPA and New York City officials will handle a cleanup if warranted by the testing information. The agency has not affirmed its authority to gain entry into commercial buildings and require or conduct cleanups, several critics say, and may disqualify for cleanup buildings that have high levels of specific WTC-related contaminants but do not meet a proposed agency threshold for cleanup. ... But agency officials explain that while the revised plan "doesn't speak to cleanup," EPA will proceed to cleanup if there is strong evidence from the testing that people are facing significant risks from contamination, even if the contaminants at issue are not part of any specific WTC "signature." As part of the expanded testing effort, EPA will try to establish a "signature" or chemical marker that will serve as an indicator of World Trade Center-related contamination. ... The agency is trying to determine if it has the authority to test in buildings against the wishes of the owner, the source says. But a key WTC panel member says lack of clarity over who will be responsible for cleanups as a result of testing may act as a "tremendous disincentive" for participation in the voluntary testing program, which already is facing weak participation and may provide only limited findings. ... (Inside EPA, November 2, 2004, password required)
• Many Saw Free Air-Conditioner in Post-9/11 Clean-Air Program ... n the spring of 2002, as the weather warmed up for the first time since the 9/11 attack, federal and state officials announced a plan to reimburse New Yorkers who replaced air-conditioners damaged by dust and debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center. People who bought air purifiers to rid their apartments of microscopic particles from the fallen buildings would receive government money as well.... In the spring of 2002, as the weather warmed up for the first time since the 9/11 attack, federal and state officials announced a plan to reimburse New Yorkers who replaced air-conditioners damaged by dust and debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center. People who bought air purifiers to rid their apartments of microscopic particles from the fallen buildings would receive government money as well.... The audit criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency and New York State, saying that they "reduced managerial controls and increased the risk of abuse." In all, the audit said, decisions by agency and state officials "greatly increased the number of apparently fraudulent applications." Some people who applied for - and received - money were miles from ground zero. And a program that had been budgeted for $15 million ballooned to more than $45 million. ... The audit said the agency and the state "took action to address suspected fraudulent applications" once problems had been identified. The audit also said there was no evidence that anyone who was eligible had been denied air-quality equipment....(NYTimes, by James Barron, November 2, 2004)
  

OCTOBER

• NADLER TO BUSH: CLEAN UP WTC CONTAMINATION: Calls on Commander-in-Chief to Stop EPA's Dereliction of Duty and Protect Public Health ... WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) issued the following letter to President Bush asking him to order the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to follow its legally mandated procedures to clean up hazardous contamination from the terrorist attacks in New York, and adequately protect the public health and environment. The letter follows recent pleas to EPA by community groups frustrated by the agency's failure to act three years after the terrorist attack. Despite the continued presence of contamination in buldings such as the Deutsche Bank across from the WTC site, and the creation by EPA of a technical review panel over one year ago, the agency has yet to perform a comprehensive testing and clean up program adequate to protect public health. ...(News Release, October 29, 2004)
• World Trade Center indoor air quality sampling plan released for comment (Capital Reports, 10/28/04)
  
• NY Attorney General's Office Accepts Unprecedented Citizens' Complaint Demanding Criminal Inquiry into 9/11 Crimes (USNewswire, News Release, 10/28/2004)
  
• 9/11 first-responders: Penn State team analyzes effects of inhaled toxins ... "We think of police officers as being in physical danger from bullets and other kinds of violence, not from inhaling toxins," said Rebecca Bascom, professor of medicine at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. "With the threat of terrorism, we now have to worry about the lung and cardiovascular health of first-responders."Bascom and a team from the Penn State College of Medicine are working with the Living Heart Foundation to analyze heart and lung screening test results of more than 1,760 rescue and relief workers. ... "The major problems we saw were mental stress, exhaustion, breathing difficulties, hypertension and (manifestations of coronary artery disease)," said Arthur J. Roberts, Living Heart Foundation president and chairman noted. Roberts added that follow-up studies showed that mental stress and breathing difficulties persist, but more cardiovascular research is needed to determine long-term complications. Bascom and team members are looking for trends and information that will better prepare the medical community to respond to future disasters. One promising area is the possibility of using the data to develop a risk score for inhalation injuries, similar to the burn score (first-, second- and third-degree), Bascom said. Doctors use the burn score to quickly assess tissue damage, deliver appropriate treatment and determine prognosis. An inhalation risk score (high, medium, low) could lead to a more precise diagnosis and treatment plan, as well. (Penn State, October 27, 2004)
• Clinton Calls on EPA to Implement World Trade Center Testing and Clean Up Program: Almost one year after Clinton secures White House commitment for the creation of an independent panel to evaluate indoor air quality issues stemming from 9/11, Senator calls on Administration to take immediate action ... New York, NY -- Today, almost one year after Senator Clinton secured the commitment of the White House Council on Environmental Policy to form the World Trade Center Expert Review Panel, Senator Clinton called on the Administration to take immediate action and implement a comprehensive testing and clean up program. The Bush Administration committed to the creation of the panel one year ago tomorrow, under pressure from Senator Clinton to address remaining health concerns about indoor air quality resulting from the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. These concerns followed an August, 2003 report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Inspector General that criticized the EPA's response to the September 11th attacks. ... "The EPA also needs to work through the expert panel to examine unmet health needs." (News Release, October 26, 2004)
  
• COMMENTARY: A Timely Lesson in Horror Unvarnished ... I visited the bridge over which the atomic bomb had dropped. The Japanese had resolved the question of what memorial to build by constructing 64 of them. The largest is the memorial museum. Inside, glass cases displayed mementos. What surprised me was that the most powerful exhibits were medical. .. It suddenly seemed important to me that the museum contain such exhibits, on epidemiology and pathophysiology of the respiratory diseases that resulted from the attacks, and the psychiatric fallout, the post-traumatic stress disorder, grief reactions, depression and anxiety, the treatments (from support groups to Prozac) that were tried. Yet the current museum plans do not call for including this information. To my knowledge, it has not even been considered. Back in New York on the third anniversary of the attack, I searched the Medline database for "Sept. 11" and found 499 published scientific articles documenting effects of that day: increased symptoms of asthma, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficits, increased cigarette and alcohol use, anger, sadness and visits to mental health professionals. ... Wars cause unanticipated disease - from shell shock to Gulf War syndrome ... (NYTimes, by Robert Klitzman, October 26, 2004)
• Seven Principles Letter to the EPA from the Lower Manhattan community: To Michael O. Leavitt (October 26, 2004)
• Report reveals truth about 9/11 fallout: PEF partners with Sierra Club in Ground Zero cleanup ... Three years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, crews continue working around Ground Zero, and the dust and fumes from demolition and construction may cause health-threatening pollution. So, PEF members from the state Department of Health (DOH) and Public Service Commission (PSC), who are slated to move to lower Manhattan next year, have teamed with the Sierra Club and other organizations to fight for cleaner air."PEF is working with a number of downtown organizations to make sure air quality is safe for our members," said Paul Stein, PEF Division 199 council leader. ... "Our concern is the buildings be carefully demolished to prevent the release of contaminants into the air," Stein said. "The Sierra Club has credibility and the ability to get press if proper standards aren't met." By next March, approximately 350 PEF members from DOH and PSC who are now assigned to other locations will be relocated to 90 Church Street. "We want to make sure the air we will be breathing on a daily basis is safe," Stein said. "We are appalled by the reckless disregard for the health of workers and residents in lower Manhattan by the EPA and other governmental entities. The EPA testing was very incomplete.".... Strength in numbers: "Without the cooperation of the Sierra Club, the Civil Service Employees Association, 9/11 Environmental Action, NYCOSH and union activists from the New York City Housing Authority and the U.S. Postal Service, which are also located at 90 Church Street, we wouldn't be as successful," Stein said, referring to the unions' winning campaign to get double-pane windows and higher efficiency filters on all air-distribution units at 90 Church Street. Stein said the topic of indoor air quality will remain on the labor-management committee agenda until all the issues are resolved."We've made significant progress with management," Stein said. "The next step is to make sure there is clearance testing of all the air intakes and air-handling units and to receive the results of those tests." (The Communicator, by Deborah a. Miles, October 2004)
  
• Ground Zero Community Wants Answers, Cleanup for Lingering 9/11 Contamination ... The letter urges EPA to conduct comprehensive testing for indoor contamination, not only in southern Manhattan but also in neighborhoods of Brooklyn that were covered by the dust cloud. It calls on EPA to commit to clean up contaminated buildings as warranted; assert authority over environmental safety during demolition of 9/11-contaminated structures such as the Deutsche Bank building; and support long-term medical monitoring, and care as needed, for people exposed to the World Trade Center pollution. While EPA has published a proposed design for indoor testing, community representatives note that it falls short of the mark for a credible program. They expressed strong disappointment that EPA had promised to work in partnership with the community, yet did not engage in a dialogue with them before publishing the protocol. ... (Occupational Hazards, 10/26/2004)
  
• Ground Zero Community Urges Answer from EPA Before Election: Cites Anniversary of White House Commitment to Consider Testing and Cleanup of 9/11 Contamination (News Release, October 26, 2004)
• World Trade Center Indoor Air Quality Sampling Proposal Circulated, U.S.Environmental Protection Agency Seeks Public Comment ... (U.S. Newswire, EPA News Release,10/21/2004)
  
• World Trade Center Indoor Air Quality Sampling Proposal Circulated U.S. EPA Seeks Public Comment ... The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released for public comment a draft sampling plan for lower Manhattan to determine if the area has contaminants from the collapsed towers at levels of concern. The panel has met seven times since March primarily to address the development of a design for a sampling program to determine the geographic extent of WTC impacts to the indoor environment.... (News Release, October 21, 2004)
• Poisons, Begone! The dubious science behind the Scientologists' detoxification program for 9/11 rescue workers ... Critics contend that the regimen lacks any scientific basis. But some former participants, with whom I spoke during a daylong visit to the clinic, believe that the program has dramatically improved their health and are lobbying local officials, as well as members of Congress, to support it with public funding. (To date, at least $30,000 in city money has been allocated; this money appears in the most recent city budget, and an additional $300,000 from city sources is potentially in the offing, according to Councilwoman Margarita Lopez. The program has also received $2.3 million in funding from private donors, including Cruise.) Program advocates, including former patients, staff doctors, and spokespeople for the clinic, are also reaching out to physicians by setting up informational meetings in an effort to gain mainstream acceptance. (Slate, by Amanda Schaffer, Oct. 21, 2004)
• METRO BRIEFING: New York, New Jersey and Connecticut ...MANHATTAN: E.P.A. OFFICIAL TO QUIT The federal official overseeing the controversial cleanup and environmental testing of apartments near ground zero has submitted her resignation. In a letter dated Oct. 12, the official, Jane M. Kenny, said she would leave her job as the Environmental Protection Agency's Region 2 administrator on Nov. 12 for a "new opportunity," but was not more specific. Ms. Kenny, who was appointed to her post in 2001, has rejected claims that residents and workers were allowed to return to the area around ground zero too soon. She also oversaw the cleanup and testing of thousands of apartments in Lower Manhattan, some of which will have to be retested. (NYT, October 14, 2004)
  
• EPA discusses WTC contamination: Some at meeting of expert panel call for testing and cleanup timeline ... Some in attendance at St. John's University on Murray Street wanted a timeline for a comprehensive testing and cleanup of buildings affected by toxic dust -- which may have contained lead, asbestos and other harmful elements -- that includes the Lower East Side, Chinatown, and parts of Brooklyn. They are worried about further contamination when other buildings near Ground Zero are demolished. 'We need a definitive statement from the EPA on if they will do the testing, if they will follow up with cleanup, and will they oversee the demolition of buildings, ' said Suzanne Mattei, New York City Executive Director for the Sierra Club.Only the EPA -- with its federal resources -- is equipped to handle the scope of theseprojects, Mattei said.. (Metro, by Amy Zimmer, October 6, 2004, PAGE 8)
• Report reveals truth about 9/11 fallout: PEF partners with Sierra Club in Ground Zero cleanup ... Three years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, crews continue working around Ground Zero, and the dust and fumes from demolition and construction may cause health-threatening pollution. So, PEF members from the state Department of Health (DOH) and Public Service Commission (PSC), who are slated to move to lower Manhattan next year, have teamed with the Sierra Club and other organizations to fight for cleaner air. “PEF is working with a number of downtown organizations to make sure air quality is safe for our members,” said Paul Stein, PEF Division 199 council leader. ... (The Communicator, by Deborah A. Miles, October 5, 2004)
• 130 LIBERTY STREET: DEUTSCHE BANK (RJLEE Group Report)
• Falling Glass Is a Surprise ... The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) released an initial environmental study last month that confirmed high levels of contaminants in the former Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty Street, whose "deconstruction" is to begin later this year. But environmental hazards are not the only worries for people who live in the shadow of the office tower, which was badly damaged when the World Trade Center towers collapsed. ... Susan Fox said she was on the street near her home at 120 Greenwich Street on Sept. 26 when she heard a crash. Fox said she was impressed by the LMDC's quick response, but that the incident called into question the agency's knowledge of the building's condition."It certainly emphasizes the reality of the dangers that they themselves are unaware of," she said. ... Still to be developed is a detailed deconstruction plan, with the specific safety measures that will be used. That plan will be prepared and overseen by the Gilbane Building Company. The federal Environmental Protection Agency and the city's Department of Environmental Protection will review the plans before deconstruction begins, Peterson said. The work may begin as soon as November. "We're confident we can go to the regulators and come up with a plan to do this quickly," she said. Peterson said the LMDC would work with the New York City Office of Emergency Management to develop an emergency evacuation plan. The LMDC also announced a 24-hour emergency telephone number, 917-715-6790, that will reach a Gilbane representative. ... (Tribeca Trib, by Etta Sanders, October 2004)
  
• Poll Finds City Residents Concerned About Health Effects Of 9/11 ... City residents remain concerned about the long term health effects from 9/11 and appear to be losing confidence in the cleanup effort, according to a new Pace University Poll. The poll found 59 percent of Lower Manhattan residents think the events of September 11th created a long term health risk for themselves and their neighbors. Fifty-two percent say they are not reassured by government studies addressing the issue. Pollsters also say downtown residents are not happy with the environmental cleanup or the monitoring of air quality; while 39 percent said they thought it was going well. That's down from high of 61 percent in the summer of 2003. Also, only a quarter of those polled said they believe the Environmental Protection agency and its reports on the air quality in Lower Manhattan. The results are based on telephone interviews conducted between August 12 and August 31, 2004, which included 539 people who live below 14th Street. ... (NY1, October 01, 2004)
  
• Glass falls from Deutsche, shutting streets and pedestrian bridge ... Glass debris fell from the former Deutsche building on Sunday, Sept. 26, landing on Greenwich St., and causing the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which now owns the contaminated building, to close down the surrounding streets for several days. The falling debris -- the first incident of its kind since the L.M.D.C. purchased the building on Aug. 30 with plans to deconstruct it -- has raised some community concerns about how pertinent information will be relayed to local residents and employees.... Lauricella said: "[The L.M.D.C.] needs to be straightforward with people about the risks," he said, "Given the foot traffic that goes by there, one would hope that they'll go the extra mile to make sure that the people who work and live in the immediate vicinity are protected." ... (Downtown Express, By Ronda Kaysen, October 01 - 07, 2004)
  

SEPTEMBER

• Residents Weigh In On How To Safely Tear Down Deutsche Bank Building ... A building heavily damaged on September 11th must come down, but the question is how. Tests show the Deustche Bank building is full of asbestos and other contaminants and people who live downtown are worried again about their safety. Dozens showed up Thursday at a meeting to hear about plans to tear the building down. NY1's Monica Brown has details. ... In it are the details of the levels of asbestos, dioxin, lead and other contaminates in the building. At a public information session Thursday night, about 80 residents of Lower Manhattan listened to the LMDC's plan to raze the building. ... The corporation says it will continue to keep the community informed of its plans. The public comment period will run through October 13th. (NY1,by Monica Brown, September 24, 2004)
  
• Pace Poll Survey Research Study ... Residents' greatest skepticism, however, relates to public health and the long-term 9/11 health risks. Only 39% believe the cleanup and monitoring of air quality went "very" or "somewhat" well compared to 61% who thought so in July 2003. In part, these concerns may arise from the public's distrust of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Only 20% of Lower Manhattan residents have any confidence in the EPA's integrity. A strong majority (59%) believes that residents of Lower Manhattan face a long-term health risk from the effects of 9/11. Nearly 1 in 4 (23%) have consulted a doctor about this risk, another 23% have discussed the issue with a friend while 10% have researched the issue on their own. More than 1 in 10 residents (14%) now have joined the World Trade Center Health Registry, double the 7% we found in our February Tracker. (September 23, 2004)
• EPA ISSUES PRE-ELECTION GAG ORDER TO STAFF: EPA Directs Employees to "Refrain From Answering" Media Inquiries ... Washington, DC, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has directed to its staff to "refrain from answering" inquiries from the news media in order to "prevent EPA management from being surprised by news coverage," according to an agency memo released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).....(News Release, September 22, 2004)
  
• This tragic day belongs to no campaign ... How can you sell what you don't own? I'm talking about 9/11. The other day, as the anniversary of the attack was approaching, I found myself lying in bed with a case of double pneumonia. The diagnosis had surprised my doctor because I'd never had serious chest ailments before. "Look," I said to my wife as I turned on the television in our Battery Park City apartment. "It's Christie Whitman at the Republican Convention!" Was this a cough-medicine induced hallucination or was it indeed the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who had assured us in the days following 9/11 that the smoke- filled air of lower Manhattan was safe to breathe? We wondered whether it was really OK for our young children as they slept at night across from the fires that burned for months at Ground Zero. Were the thick noxious clouds nothing to worry about? My wife assured me that Whitman was not a vision brought on by my reduced lung capacity. ... (NYNewsday, Thomas S. Goodkind, September 14, 2004)
• 9/11 dogs unharmed by sites, study finds ... Search-and-rescue dogs deployed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have suffered no serious illnesses from exposures to the disaster sites, a finding that offers hope for 9/11 emergency workers worried about their own health, researchers say. "Overall, the lack of clear adverse medical or behavioral effects among the 9/11 dogs is heartening, both for the animals and the human rescue workers," said Cynthia Otto, an associate professor of critical care at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and lead researcher for the study. The researchers tracked the health of 97 dogs and handlers from the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the Staten Island landfill where debris from ground zero was further searched for human remains. They compared the dogs with some rescue dogs that were not deployed for 9/11-related work. "Since dogs age more rapidly that humans, they can serve as sentinels for human disease. We are encouraged that we do not see significant increases in cancer and respiratory diseases," said Otto, whose report appears Wednesday in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.... ( Startribune, Lee Bowman, Scripps Howard News Service, September 19, 2004)
• Public process to dismantle Deutsche building begins ... Following the release of a new environmental study confirming high levels of contaminants in the badly damaged former Deutsche Bank building opposite the World Trade Center, the Lower Manhattan Development Center announced plans to begin the building's deconstruction sometime in November, although the specifics of how the building will come down -- and how residents and workers will be protected -- remain to be seen. ... When board member Catherine Hughes said she heard the plan was to start the project on Nov. 1, Peterson did not object. With deconstruction plans scheduled for public release sometime after Oct. 13, the work schedule appears overly ambitious to some. "I have never heard of six agencies working together in a year to complete a deconstruction," said Pearl Scher, a C.B. 1 member... Many residents voiced concern saying it was unprecedented to take down such a large contaminated building in a city. "A demolition of such a contaminated building in such a densely populated area has never been done before," Catherine Hughes told Downtown Express. (Downtown Express, By Ronda Kaysen, September 17-23, 2004)
  
• W.T.C. health studies discussed at forum ... Three years after the World Trade Center attack, evidence is mounting that significant health effects plague those who lived or worked near the disaster, researchers reported at a conference last weekend. ... John Reynolds, a Tribeca resident, said that he still suffered from a persistent cough that he said began when the cloud of dust from the disaster tumbled over him. "I'm here for answers," Reynolds said. "So far, I haven't found any. I've been to six doctors and they all throw up their hands and say they just don't know what caused my cough."... (Downtown Express, By Sascha Brodsky, September 17-23, 2004)
  
• Feature: Fallout: Three years after the World Trade Center attacks, thousands of cops, ... Two weeks later, Walcott was in the hematologist's office with a two-foot needle plunged into his tailbone, trying to keep still as the doctor scraped out samples of his bone marrow. It took just minutes to deliver the diagnosis: acute myelogenous leukemia, a white-blood-cell cancer. The doctor ordered Walcott straight to the hospital, where he stayed for 22 days undergoing chemotherapy. He lost his hair, coughed up dark chunks of blood, and watched the whites of his eyes turn red. His immune system was so compromised he was allowed only one visit with Colleen, then 11 months old, who stayed in her stroller under a plastic veil. ... "When I got diagnosed," says Walcott, "I was going crazy. I'd never been sick. But I'll never forget: I had a variety of doctors and nurses, and a question they all asked -- which I found crazy at the time -- was, "Were you ever exposed to radiation or benzene?" They wanted to know if I worked in an airport or if I delivered airline fuel. And I was like, ‘No.’ ” (New York Magazine, By Jennifer Senior, September 20, 2004)
  
• 9/11 Contamination Is High at Bank Tower, Study Says ... new environmental study of the former Deutsche Bank building opposite ground zero, independent of the bank and its insurers, has confirmed the presence of high levels of asbestos, dioxin, lead and other contaminants throughout the unused 40-story tower. The study was conducted by the Louis Berger Group for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which took over the building on Aug. 31 and plans to begin razing it by the end of the year. Though it has long been known that the tower was contaminated, the findings released yesterday will almost certainly add to the expense and complication - both structurally and politically - of dismantling the building....Berger, an engineering and environmental consulting firm in East Orange, N.J., found high levels of quartz, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chromium and manganese in the building. Now that the corporation owns the building, samples will also be gathered from behind walls and in other hollow spaces.... Kimberly Flynn, an environmental advocate, asked how unusual it was to tear down such a large building with so many contaminants. Tom Lewis of Berger answered, "If you break it into bite-sized pieces, the contaminant aspect will be addressed."... the development corporation acquired the property for $90 million...It now seems likely that the price tag for demolition will exceed $45 million... For a yardstick, Berger used two federal criteria for concentrations of contaminants in residential buildings: one for estimated existing levels in Manhattan and the other for target cleanup levels around the trade center site. Though "not directly applicable to a commercial deconstruction project," Berger said, they "put the results of this study into relative context." ... Using these criteria, Berger found excessive asbestos in 24 of the 31 floors it tested, or 77 percent. It also found excessive levels of dioxin (in 99 percent of the samples), lead (97 percent), quartz (94 percent), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (80 percent), chromium (30 percent) and manganese (21 percent).... (NYTimes, by David Dunlap, September 15, 2004)
  
• High Contamination Found At Deutsche Bank Building ... A new environmental study finds high levels of contamination at the Deutsche Bank building across the street from the World Trade Center site, which is slated for demolition. The report, released at a public hearing Tuesday night, said the 40-story building, which was heavily damaged in the September 11 attacks, contains dangerous levels of asbestos, dioxin, lead and other contaminants. An independent company conducted the study for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which bought the building last month and plans to begin razing it by the end of the year. ... (NY1, September 16, 2004)
  
• 'TOXIC' WTC SUIT ... Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for Silverstein, said the cleanup was conducted by the city and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "We had no control over that operation and no ability to supervise what safety precautions were taken," he said. ... The suit was filed Friday, the last day before a federal three-year statue of limitations expired for lawsuits related to the terror attacks, and made public yesterday. (NYPost, by Dareh Gregorian and Tom Topousis)
  
• 9/11 workers' suit claims toxic exposure: 800 say they are ill because city and others failed to guard them ... More than 800 rescue and cleanup workers from Ground Zero have filed the largest post-9/11 class-action lawsuit, contending they were exposed to deadly toxins and not provided with adequate safety equipment. The lawsuit claims Silverstein Properties, which leased the World Trade Center, and four construction companies hired to oversee the removal of the 1.5 million tons of debris "should have known that safety precautions were needed to protect the rescue workers and cleanup workers ... and anyone else exposed to the caustic dust from the airborne contamination, toxins and other substances." ... The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Friday, the last day set by a federal three-year statute of limitations for lawsuits related to the terrorist attack. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the city of New York and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration also will be named as defendants pending proper notification procedures. ... Worby said the plaintiffs -- many of whom are from New Jersey -- have been diagnosed with cancer, respiratory illnesses, skin lesions and other ailments after being exposed to contaminants like dioxin, asbestos, benzene, polychlorinated biphenyls and lead in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "If you were there five minutes or a year, please go see your doctor and get some type of medical testing," said John Walcott, a New York City detective who says he has contracted leukemia. "I live my life by the hour." Between 75,000 and 100,000 workers at Ground Zero and hundreds of thousands more people living and working in the area were exposed to airborne toxins ... "We are here today to tell you that the testing of these hundreds of thousands of people is urgent," said Worby, who expects the cost for such testing to be as much as $1 billion.... Last week, the Port Authority joined a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, contending the kingdom provided direct or indirect aid to al Qaeda before the attacks. ... (Star-Ledger, by Ron Marsico, September 14, 2004)
  
• Firefighters accepted all risks at ground zero ... The firefighters anticipated the dust and asbestos. Crews brought along two-stage respirators that fit over their nose and mouth to block out particulates. And commanders mandated they be worn. Still, one-quarter of the Phoenix firefighters who went to New York after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, returned with diminished lung capacity. ... The diligence with the gear could be one reason Phoenix has not seen lingering health problems. Those who had diminished lung capacity returned to normal within a year, said Dr. Jim Fleming of the Phoenix Fire Department's health center. And there have been no cases of World Trade Center cough, the malady that has plagued the New York Fire Department. ... (Arizona Republic, Sept. 13, 2004 )
• Hundreds sue over health effects of World Trade Center cleanup ... Hundreds of people who worked on the World Trade Center cleanup have filed a class-action lawsuit against the leaseholder of the towers and those who supervised the job, alleging they did little to protect workers from dust, asbestos and other toxins in the air. The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Friday and made public Monday, was brought against Silverstein Properties and the four construction companies hired to oversee the removal of the 1.5 million tons of debris. ...While some of the plaintiffs suffer from afflictions ranging from tumors to heartburn, many say they show no symptoms from their work at the site, but have joined the suit because they fear they risk developing cancer in the future. ... (Ledge Inquirer/AP, by Karen Matthew, Sep. 13, 2004)
• 9/11 pollution 'could cause more deaths than attack' ... Asbestos was found at 27 times acceptable levels, and scientists found about 400 organic alkanes, phthalates and polyaromatic hydrocarbons - many suspected of causing cancer and other long-term diseases. ... (Independent, By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor, 12 September 2004)
  
• Misled over air quality, shortchanged in federal funding, union wants four more years Burning for Bush ... The long-term effect on the health of firefighters and others remains to be seen. Some 332 firefighters have developed the "World Trade Center cough"—an innocent-sounding name for a phenomenon that leaves its victims wheezing and gasping for breath. According to the Sierra Club, one firefighter was diagnosed as suffering from a condition called acute eosinophilic pneumonia. In his lungs, doctors found metal particles, silica, and degraded glass, along with 300 times the amount of asbestos fibers considered "a significant risk for asbestosis." ... (Village Voice, by Tom Robbins, September 14th, 2004)
• Health Effects of 9/11 ... The conclusions of the Government Accountability Office study described in "Study Finds Lack of Data on Health Effects of 9/11 Dust" (news article, Sept. 8) provide further evidence that the current federal administration failed to take proper action to protect New Yorkers from the World Trade Center attack's toxic aftermath. Sierra Club's recent report, "Pollution and Deception at Ground Zero," documents how the federal government avoided finding pollution hazards by not testing for them, and suppressed information on hazards when it did find them. The Government Accountability Office report reveals a similar pattern of irresponsible conduct with regard to measuring health effects from the attack. This is certainly one way to try to avoid dealing with the consequences of the human exposures that occurred. Unfortunately, the New Yorkers who are now sick from those exposures deal with the consequences every day. (NYTimes, September 11, 2004)
  
• Ailments still plague 9/11 search and rescue team : Local clinic to test those with health problems as part of study ... A Redwood City clinic has begun monitoring health problems suffered by members of an elite search and rescue team that helped out at the World Trade Center site in the days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Maladies ranging from bloody noses to pneumonia have been plaguing at least 10 members of California Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 3, said Task Force Leader Capt. Harold Schapelhouman, a division chief with the Menlo Park Fire Protection District. There could be others with health problems, but not everyone who was there wants to be part of the study Schapelhouman launched in June at Redwood City's Workforce Medical Center... Sixty-seven members of Task Force 3 worked 20-hour days digging through what was dubbed "The Pile" at ground zero. When they returned from their 13-day stay, 70 percent of them were ill, Schapelhouman said. There were bloody noses, coughed-up blood, and a number of respiratory infections. Six or seven of them caught pneumonia and around 20 complained of a dry cough that was termed the "WTC cough." ... (San Mateo County, by Malaika Fraley, September 11, 2004)
• 9/11-related stress blamed for jump in heart problems .... Cardiac patients from New Jersey and as far away as Florida felt the pain of the Sept. 11 attacks with an increase in irregular heartbeats, new studies reveal. People with implanted defibrillators, which shock the heart into a normal rhythm when it beats irregularly, were more than twice as likely to need the electrical charge in the month after the attacks. "It certainly supports the notion that mental stress, regardless of its cause, can have severe cardiac effects," said Dr. Jonathan S. Steinberg, the study's author and a professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is a cardiologist at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood. ... Stress increases the level of adrenaline in the blood, which can cause multiple cardiovascular crises: constricted blood vessels, clotting, and disturbances in the electrical signals to the heart. ... (Bergen, by Mary Jo Layton, September 11, 2004)
• WTC rescue workers still ailing, study finds ... Lingering respiratory difficulties plague nearly half of the rescue workers screened in an analysis of breathing problems after the Twin Towers' collapse, according to a government report released yesterday. The report from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is one of three examinations released in the past few days demonstrating that health effects from the terrorist attack may last for years. In the CDC's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, Dr. Stephen Levin, lead investigator at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, found rescuers and Ground Zero cleanup workers are battling persistent sinusitis, asthma and a nagging cough three years later. ... "We don't have an easy answer for the persistence" of the cough, said Levin, co-director of the World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program at Mount Sinai. He attributed upper and lower respiratory problems to inhalation of pulverized concrete that burned and permanently scarred nasal, bronchial and lung tissue. Other destructive compounds included pulverized glass, acids and dust. "Many of our patients tell us that since their World Trade Center experience, whenever they are exposed to vehicle exhaust, cigarette smoke or even cold air, they experience airway irritation," Levin said. (NYNewsday, by Delthia Ricks, September 10, 2004)
  
• Physical Health Status of World Trade Center Rescue and Recovery Workers and Volunteers --- New York City, July 2002--August 2004 ... These data indicated that a substantial proportion of participants experienced new-onset or worsened preexisting lower and upper respiratory symptoms, with frequent persistence of symptoms for months after their WTC response work stopped. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive health assessment and treatment for workers and volunteers participating in rescue and recovery efforts. ... (MMWR Weekly, September 10, 2004; 53(35); 807-812)
  
• Study: Dirty Air Lowers Lung Capacity ... New research shows that teenagers who grow up in heavy air pollution have reduced lung capacity, putting them at risk for illness and premature death as adults. In the longest study to date of pollution's impact on developing lungs, University of Southern California researchers followed children raised in communities around Los Angeles -- some very polluted, some not -- for eight years. They found about 8 percent of 18-year-olds had lung capacity less than 80 percent of normal, compared with about 1.5 percent of those in communities with the least pollution.... ``We're seeing air pollution effects on all kids, not just sensitive subpopulations,'' said lead researcher James Gauderman, associate professor of preventive medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine. The study was reported in Thursday's edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. ... However, there's growing evidence that fine particles coated with acids, metals and other contaminants increase risk of heart and respiratory disease and death.... (NYTImes/AP, September 9, 2004)
  
• 9/11's Lingering Health Effects: Respiratory Difficulties, Mental Distress Continue (MSN/WebMD, By Miranda Hitti, Sept. 9, 2004)
  
• SEPTEMBER 11 Health Effects in the Aftermath of the World Trade Center Attack ... (September 8, 2004, GAO-04-1068T)
• SEPTEMBER 11 Federal Assistance for New York Workers' Compensation Costs (September 8, 2004, GAO-04-1013T)
• Sept. 11-related cancers may not appear for decades, doctors tell Congress ... A patchwork of post-Sept. 11 health screening programs will not detect any increases in more serious, long-term illnesses like cancer, experts told Congress on Wednesday. Doctors and government investigators told a House subcommittee it could take decades to pick up on all of the lingering health woes stemming from Sept. 11 and the cleanup effort around the World Trade Center.The two most common conditions found to date are lung damage and post-traumatic stress disorder. ... Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes the World Trade Center site, accused federal agencies of not doing enough to test and clean interior spaces in lower Manhattan. "I believe residents are slowly being poisoned today," Nadler charged. ... (Newsday, September 8, 2004)
  
• U.S. Rep. Maloney: "Health Impacts from 9/11 Persist, Federal Response Remains Inadequate, Disorganized"... WASHINGTON, DC - Today, at a Congressional hearing about the health effects of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY) assessed the federal response to widespread illness and injury caused by the disaster, saying: "Based on today's GAO testimony, there is clearly no one in charge of coordinating the federal response to the 9/11 health emergency. No one is in charge and the inadequate, disorganized response is unfortunate evidence of that. The only thing more shameful than the poor federal response to 9/11 health impacts so far would be for the government to fail again at fixing the problems now." ... (News Release, September 8, 2004)
  
• Study Finds Lack of Data on Health Effects of 9/11 Dust ... Days before the third anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center, federal agencies have yet to make a coordinated and comprehensive effort to study the health effects of the debris that filled the air in the weeks after the attack, according to a draft copy of a government study to be presented to Congress today. The study also shows that there is still no federal treatment program for those suffering from related problems. As a result, the ability to ever fully answer even the most basic questions about the health impact of that day on the public may have been seriously compromised. Moreover, there is no system in place that adequately tracks people's health with physical examinations, provides treatment and can make authoritative determinations about the impact. According to a continuing study by the Government Accountability Office, the various monitoring programs set up to address health concerns related to the trade center disaster "vary in their methods for identifying those who may require treatment," and "none of those programs are funded to provide treatment." ... The largest program set up to try to establish who might have been exposed is the World Trade Center Health Registry, created two years after the attack. Many labor unions and other groups discouraged people from signing up, expressing concern about how the data would be used. One year after the registry was created, only 55,226 people had been enrolled, according to the government study. The registry does not provide physical examinations or formal treatment. ...It also cites other research that shows how screenings across a wide swath of those who were in the downtown area in the days after the attack - including carpenters, police officers and truck drivers - show similar respiratory problems. ...(NYTimes, by Marc Santora, September 8, 2004)
• Nadler: GAO Report Confirms Health Risk Following 9/11: EPA's Inaction, False Assurances Led to Illness of First Responders, Residents ... The GAO Report also found that the people living and working in Lower Manhattan experienced health effects similar to first responders, and that almost 75% of respondents living near the WTC site experienced respiratory symptoms. The only assistance for these residents is the health registry, which does not provide any actual medical treatment. ... (September 8, 2004)
  
• A Sociologist With an Advanced Degree in Calamity .... Many of the negative findings have been documented in the 9/11 commission's report and the McKinsey & Company Report on fire and police operations. One really big risk-communication problem came from the federal government and not the city, when the E.P.A. minimized the bad air quality after the attacks. In many disasters, you find people not listening to what is happening in the field and getting in front of the situation by saying, "Oh, there's no problem." This can destroy trust in authority. (NYTimes, by Claudia Dreifus, September 7, 2004)
• In a Speck of 9/11 Dust, a World of Chaos ... hen David Scharf first examined dust that another photographer had scooped up from her quarantined apartment 350 feet from the collapsed World Trade Center, he was a bit spooked. ... The dust contained mostly ash and fiberglass and an occasional thread of asbestos. "It was an extremely high-energy, high-temperature event," he said. "Everything organic was incinerated." He has captured images of the dust in a series of prints (this one magnified about 275 times) that seem to show chaos itself. (NYTimes, by Jenna m. McKnight, September 7, 2004)
  
• Maloney Files Bill To Compensate Bypassed 9/11 Injured Workers ... Citing misguided regulations and misinformation about the air quality at Ground Zero immediately following the September 11 World Trade Center attacks, Congressmember Carolyn Maloney has introduced legislation to extend the compensation fund that covered rescue workers and remove the regulations which had blocked many injured workers and area residents from eligibility for funds. Maloney's legislation would: -Amend eligibility rules so that responders to the 9/11 attacks who arrived later than 96 hours could be eligible if they experienced illness or injury from their work at the site. -Amend eligibility rules so that those who did not seek immediate medical verification for their illness or injury from the disaster, but who have since obtained medical evidence, would be eligible. *Extend the deadline for applications to allow those with either late-onset illness from the disaster or those who were never informed of their eligibility for the Victim Compensation Fund to consider applying. (Western Queens Gazette, by John Toscano, September 3, 2004)
  
• Editorial: Downtown questions for President Bush ... The Environmental Protection Agency panel developing a new cleaning and testing program for the areas affected by 9/11 seems to be on the right track, but will your E.P.A. avoid the pitfalls of the first program by disclosing understandable information sooner and making it clearer? Will your E.P.A. officials warn residents and office workers in buildings where dangerous levels of lead and asbestos are found down the hall or in another building? Will you come clean with what the E.P.A.'s admitted environmental "mistakes" were? ... (Downtown Express, August 27 - September 02, 2004)
  

AUGUST

• Republican Focus on 9/11 Ignores Failures in the Aftermath: Sierra Club releases two print ads profiling workers and residents with chronic health problems ... New York, NY: While friends of the Bush administration invoke the heroes of September 11, 2001 tonight, it is likely they will not discuss how President Bush mishandled the cleanup and misled the public about the safety of Ground Zero. Rescue and cleanup workers, area employees, volunteers, and residents were told the Ground Zero area was safe when administration experts knew the pollution was harmful. And now the Bush administration is turning the failures in the aftermath of 9/11 into official policy for handling future emergencies or attacks.... The 2 ads can be viewed at: http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/media/2004_aug30/911Ad.pdf and http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/media/2004_aug30/911Ad2.pdf (Sierra Club News Release, August 30 , 2004)
• TERRORIST ATTACKS: Hazard reports were blocked ... At the Republican Party convention in New York City, no doubt there will be a lot of talk about the heroism displayed on 9/11. It's a good time to recall that while caring people dug through the rubble, lies from Washington were ensuring their future ill-health, suffering and possibly early death. (The Springfield News-Leader, letter by Jean A. Blackwood, August 31, 2004)
• Religious Groups Call For More Aid To 9/11 Victims, Families ... A local religious organization says it wants more help for victims and families of 9/11. Members of New York Disaster Interfaith Services gathered at City Hall Thursday to present their report. Some of the report's recommendations to help those in need include providing federal health insurance for recovery workers who are ill because of the clean-up at the World Trade Center site, and using the $1billion remaining in the Community Development Block Grants to invest in low-incoming housing, jobs programs and health programs for residents... (NY1, August 28, 2004)
  
• COVER PHOTO ... Environmental groups critical of the Bush administration's post-9/11 cleanup of the neighborhoods surrounding the World Trade Center site gathered Thursday on Wall St. at Federal Hall, the place where George W. -- Washington, that is -- was sworn into office. The groups began an eight-day vigil that will run through the end of the Republican convention Sept. 2, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. each day, at the corner of Liberty St. and Broadway. (Downtown Express, August 27 - September 02, 2004)
  
• Anti-war signs overlook the W.T.C. site ... "Like it or not, [the W.T.C. site] has been used for thousands of purposes, and it has been used to justify this war," said Stanke, who had his signs installed a few weeks ago. He and his neighbors are only now beginning to return to the building, which was badly damaged and contaminated by toxic chemicals as a result of the collapse of the Twin Towers.... (Downtown Express, by Josh Rogers, August 27 - September 02, 2004)
  
• The W.T.C. as a backdrop to the G.O.P. convention ... Consider the causes presented at the W.T.C.: the war on terror, the war on Iraq, rebuild the Twin Towers, build a 16-acre memorial, preserve the footprints, office tower safety, pleas to Washington for rebuilding funds, calls for funding for environmental cleaning of Downtown. (Downtown Express, by David Stanke, August 27 - September 02, 2004)
  
• New Yorkers to GOP: Don't Breathe the Air ... As conventioneers arrive, demonstrators at the World Trade Center site are holding a daily vigil to inform the nation that the area is still contaminated with toxics spread when the buildings collapsed ... (AlterNet, By Sunny Lewis, Environment News Service. Posted August 27, 2004)
  
• The elephants are coming, but not stampeding Downtown ... While Madison Square Garden will be the center of activity for the Republican National Convention next week, Downtown will also feel the impact of the event as delegations from American Samoa to Nebraska descend on local hotels. (Downtown Express, By Elizabeth O'Brien, August 27 - September 02, 2004)
  
• Congresswoman Calls For Reopening 9/11 Victim Fund ... A bill on its way to Congress calls for reopening the federal Victim Compensation Fund. The fund has distributed all its awards and is no longer accepting applications. But hundreds of rescue workers say they developed illnesses after the deadline, while other applicants claim they were rejected on technicalities. New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney says the fund should be amended and reopened for three more years. (NY1, August 25, 2004)
• A presidential potpourri of cuts, blunders, stonewalls, deceptions, and distractions: The 10 Ways Bush Screwed New York ... 7 What could be worse than lying to GZ workers and residents about the air they were breathing? (Village Voice, by Wayne Barrett, special reporting by Daniel Magliocco, August 24th, 2004)
• Sierra Club releases report on environmental response to 9/11 ... The Sierra Club issued a report on Wednesday charging that federal agencies misinformed Downtown residents and businesses about the hazards of air pollution from the World Trade Center attack and failed to take proper action to prevent exposure to toxic vapors and airborne particles.... Nadler said he believed people in Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn were being 'poisoned' to this day, but when asked, he said he did not favor evacuating the areas. He repeated his call to have the E.P.A. begin a more stringent testing and cleanup program. ... (Downtown Express, By Albert Amateau and Josh Rogers, August 10 - 27, 2004)
  
• 14 WTC search and rescue dogs dead ... Fourteen search and rescue dogs have died since their exposure to toxic rubble from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack - including eight from cancer, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. But researchers believe there is no connection between the deaths and the chemicals they were exposed to. Despite the study's findings, some of the owners whose dogs have died still blame the toxic brew the dogs immersed themselves in during the hunt for survivors and remains. ... (NYDailyNews, by Heidi Evans, August 22, 2004)
• Dust must clear on veil of deceit (NYDailyNews, by Juan Gonzalez, August 19, 2004)
• Greens rip W on 9/11 air (NYDailyNews, by Juan Gonzalez, August 19, 2004)
• Government Cover-up on WTC Health Effects? (Institute for Public Accuracy, August 19, 2004)
  
• Government Accused Of Misleading Public About Air Quality After 9/11 ... The Sierra Club is calling on President George Bush to properly clean up the dust that still remains in residences and businesses and to fund long-term medical monitoring, treatment and assistance. ... (NY1, August 19, 2004)
  
• Sierra Club: Bush Endangered Lives of New Yorkers After 9/11 By Lying About Dangers of Toxic Fallout (Democracy Now, August 19th, 2004)
• Report: Bush Administration Failed Public Health ... As part of its criticism, the Sierra Club also cited a little known study in the July 2002 Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine that compared the health of federal employees working five blocks north of ground zero to their colleagues in Dallas. The study found that employees at the Department of Health and Human Services who were indirectly affected by the trade center collapse ``were more than likely to report constitutional symptoms'' such as eye, nose and throat irritation and headache, than those in Dallas. ... (1010Wins, August 18, 2004)
  
• How Our Government Allowed Hundreds of Civilians to Breathe Contaminated Air After 9/11 (Sierra Club, August 18, 2004)
  
• Report: Bush 'Reckless' on Post-9/11 Health Risks (Reuters, August 18, 2004)
• Group blames feds over 9/11 toxic smoke (Seattlepi.com, by Chaka Ferguson, August 18, 2004)
• Government blamed over 9/11 toxic smoke: People were not warned of health risks, Sierra Club reports (MSNBC/AP, August 18, 2004)
• Report: Bush showed 'reckless disregard' after 9/11 ... While the early focus was on asbestos, the more dangerous toxins were concrete dust and glass fibers -- the dangers of which were never highlighted to the public, the report concludes... (NYNewsday,by Graham Rayman, August 18, 2004)
• Report: Bush showed 'reckless disregard' after 9/11 ... While the early focus was on asbestos, the more dangerous toxins were concrete dust and glass fibers -- the dangers of which were never highlighted to the public, the report concludes... (NYNewsday,by Graham Rayman, August 18, 2004)
• Group blames feds over 9/11 toxic smoke (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 18, 2004)
• Upper Respiratory Symptoms and Other Health Effects among Residents Living Near the World Trade Center Site after September 11, 2001 ... Residents of the affected area reported higher rates of new-onset upper respiratory symptoms after 9/11 (cumulative incidence ratio = 2.22, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.88, 2.63). Most of these symptoms persisted 1 year after 9/11 in the affected area. Previously healthy residents of the affected area had more respiratory-related unplanned medical visits (prevalence ratio = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.13, 2.64) and more new medication use (prevalence ratio = 2.89, 95% CI: 1.75, 4.76) after 9/11. Greater impacts on respiratory functional limitations were also found in the affected area. Although bias may have contributed to these increases, other analyses of WTC-related pollutants support their biologic plausibility ... (American Journal of Epidemiology, doi:10.1093/aje/kwi233; August 17, 2005; Shao Lin 1*, Joan Reibman 2, James A. Bowers 1, Syni-An Hwang 1, Anne Hoerning 2, Marta I. Gomez 1, and Edward F. Fitzgerald 3)
• Journalist groups complain Homeland Security is skirting environmental disclosure rules (ENN/AP, By Elizabeth Wolfe, Associated Press, August 17, 2004)
  
• Controversial WTC Detox Program Expanded To Public (NY1, August 15, 2004)
  
• Diesel Exhaust Exposure Raises Ovarian Cancer Risk ... The risk of ovarian cancer increases with increased exposure to diesel exhaust, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Cancer. "Occupational exposure to diesel exhaust has been classified as probably carcinogenic and that to gasoline engine exhaust as possibly carcinogenic to humans," Dr. Johannes Guo, of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, and colleagues write. ... (Reuters, Aug 13, 2004)
• August 12 Indypendent: Foul Air Fallout (Indymedia, 13 Aug 2004)
• 9/11 health study wants you: City registry tracks 50,000, needs more ... But city Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said more people are needed for the World Trade Center Health Registry, especially rescue and recovery workers, school children and people who lived in lower Manhattan on and after Sept. 11. Enrollment closes at the end of the month. "What we know from the published evidence on the short-term health effects is that both mental health impacts and respiratory impacts have been significant," Frieden said during a recent press conference at Battery Park. ... (NYDailyNews, by Lisa L. Colangelo, August 11, 2004)
• Book Review: An Air that Kills: How the Asbestos Poisoning of Libby, Montana, Uncovered a National Scandal ... A wealth of investigative reporting exposes how environmental asbestos concerns were neglected by the Bush-Whitman Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the desire to get Wall Street going after September 11. ... (Environmental Health Perspectives, Volume 112, Number 11, August 2004, By Andrew Schneider and David McCumber)
  
• Air levels of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons after the World Trade Center disaster ... Because elevated PAH levels were transient, any elevation in cancer risk from PAH exposure should be very small among nonoccupationally exposed residents of NYC. However, the high initial levels of PAHs may be associated with reproductive effects observed in the offspring of women who were (or became) pregnant shortly after September 11, 2001. Because no PAH-specific air sampling was conducted, this work provides the only systematic measurements, to our knowledge, of ambient PAHs after the WTC disaster. (PNAS; August 10, 2004; vol. 101; no. 32; 11685-11688)
• City looks to make biggest health registry bigger ... The World Trade Center Health Registry has become the largest registry in U.S. history, but the more than 50,000 enrollees still fall short of the city's expectations for the program. In the three weeks remaining before the Aug. 31 cutoff, officials hope to enroll many more people, particularly Lower Manhattan residents. The effort aims to track the long-term physical and mental health consequences of the World Trade Center disaster. "The more people we get, the better the registry will be" in terms of accuracy and scope, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, at an Aug. 3 news conference. Several hundred thousand people meet the eligibility requirements, Frieden said. The second-largest registry in U.S. history was one that tracked 38,000 people exposed to radiation from the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.Of the 50,000 participants in the W.T.C. registry, about 10,000 are residents who lived south of Canal St. on Sept. 11, 2001. Residents are of interest because they experienced the most prolonged exposure to the fine dust particles and other contaminants released in the World Trade Center collapse and subsequent fires, while rescue workers generally experienced a more intense exposure of shorter duration, Frieden said. Of the enrolled residents, the 10038 zip code is the most represented, with 2,917 participants. This area includes the Southbridge Towers housing complex, the Seaport, and parts of the Financial District and Chinatown. Tribeca, which is in zip code 10013, is next with 2,177 enrollees. Battery Park City, or zip code 10280, tied for third place with zip code 10002, or Knickerbocker Village on the Lower East Side and parts of Chinatown. ... (Downtown Express, by Elizabeth O'Brien, August 06 - 12, 2004)
  
• 2,420 Islanders enroll in WTC health registry: Total of 51,025 signed up with city Health Dept. survey designed to measure effects of 9/11 attacks (Staten Island Advance, by Lisa Schneider, August 04, 2004)
  

JULY

• THE WTCHR QUARTERLY ENROLLMENT UPDATE DATA THROUGH FRIDAY, JULY 2, 2004
• Special Report: E.P.A. plans to expand test program ... Community members and scientific experts applauded an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to expand testing for 9/11 contaminants to residences and workplaces north of Canal St....In compiling the list of contaminants, officials chose toxins not commonly found in urban environments, whose origins could be traced more definitively to 9/11. But some questioned the decision to exclude lead, which is common in cities and also in World Trade Center dust. "I strongly urge you to put lead back into your protocol," said Suzanne Mattei of the Sierra Club....In a further sign that the panel has embraced an expansive mandate, members agreed on Monday to monitor the dismantling of the Deutsche Bank building across from ground zero.Jeanne Stellman, a panelist and professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, said the E.P.A. must consider the Deutsche Bank building in the context of its own sampling program. Monday's proposal called for a free cleanup of units found to have elevated levels of contaminants. (Downtown Express, By Elizabeth O'Brien, July 30 - August 05, 2004)
  
• EPA Awards $30 Million Dollar Grant for Particulate Matter Research ... today awarded the University of Washington with a $30 million grant to study the connection between air pollution and cardiovascular disease. The grant is the largest ever awarded by the EPA for scientific research, and will contribute to a better understanding of the long-term effects of breathing air contaminated by particulate matter (PM) and other pollutants. (News Release, July 29th, 2004)
• TC air quality stirs controversy: Environmental experts and residents alike wrestled Monday - sometimes with fervor - over toxic dust problems that have plagued New York City since Sept. 11, 2001. ... The two most controversial issues on the table at the fifth meeting of the World Trade Center Expert Technical Review Panel: proposed further testing for World Trade Center (WTC) dust around the city, and plans to demolish a building heavily damaged during the terrorist attacks. ... "Studies (done on WTC air contaminants) agree on the overall composition of dust, so for bulk dust, we know what the signature is," said Greg Meeker, panel member and research geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey. "We're looking to see how that signature changes with distance, elevation, indoor versus outdoor samples, and more." Several panel and audience members expressed concern over the area that's currently proposed for more air testing. Test areas - both past and proposed future ones - have been determined largely from viewing satellite and aerial photos of smoke visible after the attack. As a result, past and future tests focus only on limited areas of Manhattan...."My kids go to school in Brooklyn, and on Sept. 11, it was definitely snowing WTC debris there," said Cathy McVay Hughes, panel member and Manhattan resident. ... The proposed new testing plan developed by the panel was also questioned because of its plan to test only those buildings whose owners and tenants volunteered.... Several panelists agreed with Perilo's concern, saying the WTC panel should step in. "Deutsche Bank is not the only highly contaminated high-rise set for demolition, so this is something our panel should address," said David Newman of NYCOSH. David Prezant agreed. "I would view the demolition of this building as a test for the future," he said. "There's always talk of when the next terrorist attack will be - this could be a model of what's done with contaminated buildings. We may be forced to do this again." (Disaster News Network, July 28, 2004)
• NADLER STATEMENT ON NEW EPA TESTING AT GROUND ZERO: "A Step in the Right Direction, but the Devil is in the Details." ... "It has been almost three years since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appears to finally be taking a step in the right direction to characterize the environmental impact from the collapse of the World Trade Center. I am extremely gratified that an EPA-led expert panel has proposed to expand testing for hazardous substances beyond the arbitrary boundary of Canal Street, and to include testing of commercial buildings and schools. While this decision is a positive sign, the following measures must also be taken to properly protect the people of New York: First, the test methodology used in this new round of tests must be the more sensitive, accurate test methods used by EPA at other hazardous sites around the country, such as at Libby, Montana. Second, the EPA must test for all contaminants known to be present at the WTC, such as lead, mercury, asbestos, dioxins, and PCBs. Third, the agency must test the dust as well as the air, so that all pathways of exposure are considered. All of this testing must be done in accordance with federal health and safety laws, and in a public and transparent manner so that the public can properly assess the results.... The statements made by EPA officials bring hope to the people living and working around Ground Zero, but as with all things, 'the devil is in the details.' EPA officials have indicated they will characterize entire buildings, and not just a single unit. This characterization must include the ventilation and duct work, which can be a source of recontamination. They have also signaled a willingness to conduct tests in Brooklyn. It is imperative that testing in Brooklyn become a reality. EPA must budget the necessary funds to perform these activities thoroughly and expeditiously. I am also pleased that the EPA has said it will investigate the environmental and health risks at the Deutsche Bank building. I hope that no action is taken to demolish the building until the EPA completes its work at the building, and develops a contingency plan to manage the potential release of hazardous materials, consistent with the agency's mandate under federal law. (News Release, July 28, 2004)
• Dr. Clinton Versus the Ground Zero Cough ... Joseph Lebretti and David O'Neal discovered that they lived on the same Pennsylvania country road while working the night shift together in the fall of 2001, digging through the wreckage at Ground Zero. Their lives ran parallel courses for three months with Lebretti, a Local 580 ironworker, and O'Neal, a day laborer in Local 79, consumed by the toxic life of the pile. Since then, both men have been diagnosed with chronic lung disease. O'Neal is on the waiting list at Mount Sinai Medical Center for a lung transplant. Lebretti has visited the occupational safety specialists at Mount Sinai more than 30 times. He was first sent to the East Harlem clinic by his union, which encouraged its members to be examined there as patients of the World T