“Given the scope of the tragedy from last week, I am glad to reassure the people of New York … that their air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink.”
– Christine Todd Whitman, E.P.A. Administrator
“The air quality is safe and acceptable.”
– Rudy Giuliani, New York City Mayor
Since the E.P.A. head and the soon-to-be-declared “America’s Mayor” made these comments the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund has nearly exhausted the money allotted to compensate first responders, cleanup workers and close-by residents. Thousands of claims are still coming in from victims who developed respiratory ailments and cancer. All of the 400 tons of asbestos used in constructing the World Trade Center twin towers was released into the air during the 9/11 attacks.
Almost 90,000 have registered with the World Trade Center Health Program. About 10,000 of them have cancer. To date, an estimated 2,100 have died. By the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, more people will have died from related illness than died in the attack.
Fun Giuliani fact: Against all advice, the Mayor sited the city’s emergency communication center close to the World Trade Center, which suffered a bombing in 1993. The center, an easy walk from City Hall, also served as a convenient trysting sanctuary.
“Giuliani’s office had a humidor for cigars and mementos from City Hall, including a fire horn, police hats and fire hats, as well as monogrammed towels in his bathroom. His suite was bulletproofed and he visited it often, even on weekends, bringing his girlfriend Judi Nathan there long before the relationship surfaced. He had his own elevator.”
