Produced by Brave New Films in association with Sierra Club Productions. Episode 1: 9/11 Forgotten Heroes For More Information:Visit the following websites to learn more about community and labor efforts to obtain proper cleanup of 9/11-contaminated dust and necessary health services: 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. 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 the 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. The United Firefighters Association retained the Project to serve as environmental counsel for World Trade Center-related issues. Visit www.nyenvirolaw.org for more information. The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, a coalition of local unions and individuals dedicated to safety in the workplace, fought hard for workplace health and safety measures at Ground Zero. It also provided free technical expertise to community members concerned about World Trade Center toxic dust infiltration in their homes and workplaces. Its industrial hygienist served on the World Trade Center Expert Technical Review Panel. That scientific panel recently was disbanded by the federal administration despite the fact that 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 for more information. 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 full disclosure of hazards, proper testing and cleanup of 9/11 pollution and safe demolition of contaminated buildings. 9/11 EA also demands medical monitoring and care for everyone harmed by World Trade Center contamination. This organization has coordinated much of the outreach for public participation in hearings and public meetings. They maintain a highly informative, user-friendly website that documents community efforts for a proper disaster response to the September 11th attack. Visit www.911ea.org for more information. For background information, here are key documents on Ground Zero pollution and our federal government's inadequate disaster response to the 9/11 attack: Congressman Jerrold Nadler issued a "white paper" in 2002 on the pollution from Ground Zero. This document was the first to reveal in a systematic way the inadequacy of the federal government's response at Ground Zero. It identified disturbing inconsistencies in federal testing results and private testing results. It also was the first to clarify that the federal Environmental Protection Agency had the legal authority and responsibility to conduct a proper testing and cleanup of the "World Trade Center dust" that spread from Ground Zero. See: U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, White Paper: Lower Manhattan Air Quality (Apr. 12, 2002). New York Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez produced an important book on the early efforts to obtain disclosure of toxic hazards from Ground Zero and protection for workers and residents. See: Juan Gonzalez, Fallout: The Environmental Consequences of the World Trade Center Collapse (New York: The New Press, 2002). 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 Environmental Protection Agency 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., EPA's Response to the World Trade Center Collapse: Challenges, Successes and Areas for Improvement (August 21, 2003). More Episodes:
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