Toxic Air at Ground Zero Linked to Rise in 9/11 Casualties: The Untold Truth

***** In the days immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I tried to warn the authorities about the toxic nature of the dust and debris surrounding Ground Zero and the very real danger that it posed for the tens of thousands of first responders, other rescue and recovery workers and the residents of lower Manhattan who chose to remain. *****

Just days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, firefighters Lt. William Lovett and Michael Barrett helped organize a relief effort at the fire department in Rutland, Vermont, that delivered money, dolls and gifts for the families of New York City firefighters killed in the attacks.

Now, I used this as an opportunity to go to the fire department in order to talk with Barrett. I told him about my having gone to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) before the terrorist attacks in order to warn them, but that they had not listened to me (see my BIN article 9/11: The Untold Truth). I also told him that he needed to let other firefighters know when he went to New York City that I had extremely important information to share with them. Barrett listened politely but said very little. I then left.

The next day I returned to the fire station and located firefighter Barrett again. This time I told him that the actual number of casualties from the attacks was going to be far, far greater than what was then being reported in the news (about 2000 at the time). And again I told him that he had to let New York City firefighters know that I had important information for them, especially with regard to breathing the air at Ground Zero. The toxic dust and particulate matter was a serious health risk for the thousands of exposed rescue and recovery workers and for those who lived and worked in the area.

Barrett then disappeared for a few minutes. When he returned he told me that I should call the FBI and handed me a piece of paper with their phone number written on it. I reminded him that I had already tried to approach the FBI in the past and that what I wanted had nothing to do with the FBI. He then disappeared again without saying a word.

Several minutes later, the Rutland police showed up. (Barrett had gone back inside the second time and called them.) I was asked to leave the area and encouraged to go talk to the FBI. And so I left and went directly home, not going to the FBI.

In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, thousands of rescue and recovery workers from New York City and across the country spent days and weeks combing through mountains of debris searching for survivors and any personal effects. On September 18, 2001, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Christine Todd Whitman announced that air quality at (and surrounding) Ground Zero was deemed safe, which was later discovered to be a deliberate lie helped fabricated by the George W. Bush administration. Two days after the collapse of the World Trade Center, New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani downplayed the health risks of the area saying, “The air is safe as far as we can tell, with respect to chemical and biological agents.”

In fact, the air would later prove to be extremely hazardous, even deadly. Of the nearly 50,000 rescue and recovery workers, respiratory illness, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are the most frequently reported physical and mental problems. Asthma, chronic bronchitis and other lung function problems are among the most frequently observed lung diseases. Cancers also are expected to rise among exposed workers, but normally take years to develop.

“I think we forged one of those bonds that can’t be broken,” Barrett said describing his relationship with firefighters in New York City according to an article in the Rutland Herald. “I actually rode with a few of their companies before 9/11.” Well, if firefighter Barrett really cared about his firefighter friends in New York City and their families, then why not warn them? Is it that he was too embarrassed or afraid of what they might say? Or was it that he didn’t believe my warning? Logically speaking, the most prudent thing for him to have done was to err on the side of caution given the very high stakes. But as everyone now knows, firefighter Barrett clearly did them no favor by not warning them.