Will Black Lung Be The New Black?
In this AP story by John Heilprin, The White House takes heat for urging the EPA to fudge post-9/11 environmental safety reports, misleading New Yorkers -- most notably, those living in Tribeca and around Wall Street -- into thinking ìthere was no health risk from the debris-laden air after the World Trade Center collapse":
President Bush's senior environmental adviser on Friday defended the White House involvement, saying it was justified by national security.
(Thankfully, he didn't say "if New Yorkers knew what they were breathing, the terrorists win.") Still, according to Heilprin's story, The White House did seem a bit more concerned with cleaning up press releases than telling the truth about cleaning up downtown New York:
The White House ìconvinced EPA to add reassuring statements and delete cautionary onesî by having the National Security Council control EPA communications in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, according to a report issued late Thursday by EPA Inspector General Nikki L. Tinsley.
Maybe lower Manhattan residents can fund their chemo treatments by selling T-shirts: ìMy country got reassuring press releases and all I got was this lousy lung cancer!î They might not be alone for long. As Julian Borger writes for The Guardian, we could all be sucking more pollutants very soon:
The Bush administration plans to open a huge loophole in America's air pollution laws, allowing an estimated 17,000 outdated power stations and factories to increase their carbon emissions with impunity.
"My country...hack, hack, cough, cough...tis of thee..."
Chemical analysis of World Trade Center fine particulate matter for use in toxicologic assessment.
Environ Health Perspect. 2003 Jun;111(7):972-80.
McGee JK, Chen LC, Cohen MD, et al (Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).
The catastrophic destruction of the World Trade Center (WTC) on 11 September 2001 caused the release of high levels of airborne pollutants into the local environment. To assess the toxicity of fine particulate matter [particulate matter with a mass median aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 microm (PM2.5)], which may adversely affect the health of workers and residents in the area, we collected
fallen dust samples on 12 and 13 September 2001 from sites within a half-mile of Ground Zero. Samples of WTC dust were sieved, aerosolized, and size-separated, and the PM2.5 fraction was isolated on filters. Here we report the chemical and physical properties of PM2.5 derived from these samples and compare them with PM2.5 fractions of three reference materials that range in toxicity from relatively inert to acutely toxic (Mt. St. Helens PM; Washington, DC, ambient air PM; and residual oil fly ash). X-ray diffraction of very coarse sieved WTC PM (< 53 microm) identified calcium sulfate (gypsum) and calcium carbonate
(calcite) as major components. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that calcium-sulfur and calcium-carbon particles were also present in the WTC PM2.5 fraction. Analysis of WTC PM2.5 using X-ray fluorescence, neutron activation analysis, and inductively coupled plasma spectrometry showed high levels of calcium (range, 22-33%) and sulfur (37-43% as sulfate) and much lower levels of
transition metals and other elements. Aqueous extracts of WTC PM2.5 were basic (pH range, 8.9-10.0) and had no evidence of significant bacterial contamination. Levels of carbon were relatively low, suggesting that combustion-derived
particles did not form a significant fraction of these samples recovered in the immediate aftermath of the destruction of the towers. Because gypsum and calcite are known to cause irritation of the mucus membranes of the eyes and respiratory
tract, inhalation of high doses of WTC PM2.5 could potentially cause toxic respiratory effects.
Lena Cuisina at August 24, 2003 10:25 AM
Very well done, Lena.
Patrick at August 24, 2003 12:47 PM
For people whining a great deal about not being able to smoke inside , NYers are sure picky about air outside.
Gypsum? Calcite? Wallboard.
Sasha at August 25, 2003 12:40 AM
Actually, it was not the air outside that was the biggest problem for friends in my old neighborhood (Tribeca) but the air inside their apartments. That dust was being kicked up constantly -- still is -- and is being circulated around buildings. The problem was, without information, people downtown couldn't make informed decisions about their health, and whether to stay in their apartments or leave temporarily, or for good. It was the government's obligation to dispense the truth, not trot out "national security" as an excuse for exposing a lot of unwitting people to serious respiratory and other diseases.
(Amy Alkon) at August 25, 2003 2:01 AM
I'm sure Bush will tell us that he did asbestos he could.
Patrick at August 25, 2003 4:53 AM
What -- is being a pun slut communicable?
(Amy Alkon) at August 25, 2003 7:57 PM