Reply #23: Whitman blames 911 workers for their own health problems (toxic fallout) [View All]

[LynnTheDem]

Whitman; just another lying hypocrite republican.

Reassuring NY Residents

EPA’s then-Administrator Christie Whitman said, “Given the scope of the tragedy from last week, I am glad to reassure the people of New York and Washington, D.C., that their air is safe to breathe and their water is safe to drink.”

On September 16, only several days after the events, Mayor Rudy Giuliani and EPA’s then-administrator Christie Whitman gave residents and office workers the “all clear” sign that the environment was safe.

http://www.neha.org/9-11%20report/index-Reassuri.html

911 Air Outrage

Christie Whitman has three words for many of the Ground Zero rescue workers suffering from "tower lung" and other lingering health problems: We warned you.

Whitman, who headed the federal Environmental Protection Agency on 9/11 and afterward, said yesterday her agency did everything it could to warn rescue teams they needed to worry about their own health and safety while conducting their heroic work.

Firefighter reaction to Whitman's statement was swift and angry.

"She is ultimately responsible," said Steve Cassidy, president of the firefighters union. "When she said that everything was OK, the firefighters believed those statements. For her to say now that we are responsible is outrageous."

The head of the country's largest firefighter union called Whitman's comments "a slap in the face to all firefighters."

The former New Jersey governor said she understands the workers were under great stress and emotional strain, but that the EPA cannot be faulted for failing to warn them of dangerous toxins at Ground Zero.

http://www.ufalocal94.org/news_stories/nypost/nypost_9_14_03.html