Unsung Heroes Helping Heroes

Media Links

Visit the following websites to learn more about community and labor efforts to meet the health-related needs of the people exposed to 9/11 pollution and also proper cleanup of 9/11 contaminated dust.

Media clip of the struggle to get the 9/11 EMS bill passed - which it did pass on 10/31/07

Sierra Club Chronicles

Episode 1: 9/11 Forgotten Heroes

The New York Environmental Law and Justice Project was a pioneer in identifying the toxic hazards at Ground Zero. Attorney Joel Kupferman unearthed and released data on environmental testing through a freedom of information request to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). When investigative columnist Juan Gonzalez of the New York Daily News published this data, it was the first significant warning to the public of the environmental risks from Ground Zero. This organization continues to unearth new information on contamination from ground zero and advocate for agencies to carry out their duties to protect workers and the public.

Visit: www.nyenvirolaw.org

The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, a coalition of local unions and individuals dedicated to safety in the workplace, fought for workplace health and safety measures at Ground Zero. It provides technical expertise to community members concerned about 9/11 toxic dust infiltration in homes and workplaces. Its industrial hygienist served on the World Trade Center Expert Technical Review Panel, which was disbanded by the federal administration even though its members declared their willingness to work with the EPA to fix serious flaws in the agency's highly controversial new plan for indoor 9/11 pollution testing. Visit: www.nycosh.org

9/11 Environmental Action, formed in 2002, is the community-based organization of residents, school parents, and occupational safety, public and environmental health advocates that has spearheaded the community's fight for disclosure of hazards, proper testing and cleanup of 9/11 pollution and safe demolition of contaminated buildings. It also demands health monitoring and care for everyone harmed by 9/11 contamination. In addition to their extensive community outreach efforts, the organization maintains an informative, user-friendly website that documents community efforts for a proper disaster response to the 9/11 attack.
Visit: www.911ea.org

Here are some key documents on Ground Zero pollution and our federal government's inadequate response to the 9/11 attack.

The Sierra Club's 2004 report, Pollution and Deception at Ground Zero, determined that the cover-up of health hazards from Ground Zero continued long after the early press releases analyzed by the EPA Inspector General. This report and Sierra Club's 2005 update, Pollution and Deception at Ground Zero Revisited: Why It Could Happen Again, found that the federal administration has incorporated key aspects of its failed approach to disaster response at Ground Zero into national policy for future disaster responses.

Visit: www.sierraclub.org/groundzero

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Inspector General, in a 2003 investigative report, revealed the shocking news that the White House Council on Environmental Quality had demanded changes in the wording of press releases issued by the EPA to remove language that warned of health risks from Ground Zero pollution. It also found that the EPA had used guidelines for evaluating test results that were not health-based. See: Inspector General, U.S.E.P.A., EPS's Response to the World Trade Center Collapse Challenges, Successes and Areas for Improvement (August 21, 2003).
www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2003/WTC_report_20030821.pdf

New York Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez produced an important investigative book in the early efforts to obtain disclosure of toxic hazards from Ground Zero and protection for both workers and residents. See: Juan Gonzalez, Fallout: The Environmental Consequences of the World Trade Center Collapse (New York: The New York Press, 2002)

Other Links and Information