New Evidence Exposes Lethal Consequence of Rudy Giuliani's Poor 9/11 Decisions

May 24, 2007 -- After Rudy Giuliani boasted yesterday that he took "a city that was a health hazard and turned it into one of America's safest big cities," new evidence reported today shows that Giuliani's poor decisions in the aftermath of 9/11, in fact, led to a severe health hazard. According to The New York Times, the dust from the destruction of the World Trade Center for the first time has been definitively linked to a death, a finding which supports federal lawsuits filed against the city by firefighters and other Ground Zero recovery workers.

As The New York Times previously reported, Giuliani did not enforce federal requirements that workers at Ground Zero wear respirators and, as a result, "more than 2,000 New York City firefighters have been treated for serious respiratory problems." [The New York Times, 5/14/07; The New York Times, 5/24/07; Rutland Herald, 5/24/07]

Giuliani's administration was aware of the toxic levels of asbestos in air samples of Ground Zero yet he "sidelined" federal agencies with "extensive disaster response experience," assigning clean-up to an unknown city agency. And Giuliani re-opened sections of Manhattan "despite knowing the air was toxic," "overruling" the city's Department of Environmental Protection which found high levels of asbestos in 27 of 38 tests conducted. [The New York Times, 5/14/07; UPI, 9/7/06; Giuliani, 9/28/01; New York Post, 9/7/06; Daily News , 9/6/06]

"In light of this new evidence, Rudy Giuliani should be asked whether he regrets not taking the steps necessary to protect the firefighters, police officers and workers at Ground Zero," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney. "No doubt, the more Americans learn more about Rudy Giuliani's poor decision-making after 9/11 and his role in this tragedy, the more they will question his ability to lead the country."

DESPITE DATA SHOWING DANGERS, GIULIANI EXPOSED WORKERS AND PUBLIC

Giuliani Said Air Was Safe After Tests Showed Otherwise, Overruled Health Experts. In late September 2001, Giuliani flatly denied that air quality at Ground Zero was an issue, saying at a press conference: "The air quality is safe and acceptable. And I know there are people that are concerned about it and people that are worried about it, but that's just the reality." Investigations by the media and the public interest groups revealed documents showing that "New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani re-opened sections of downtown Manhattan weeks after the 9/11 attacks despite knowing the air was toxic," and that he "overruled" the city's Department of Environmental Protection. 27 of 38 tests before the statement showed high levels of asbestos. [UPI, 9/7/06; Giuliani, 9/28/01; New York Post, 9/7/06; Daily News (New York), 9/6/06(emphasis added)]

Giuliani's Administration Hid Findings of Contamination. "Government documents uncovered by this column since 9/11 showed city and federal officials hid important information about the true extent of contamination. The city's Department of Environmental Protection, for example, found high levels of asbestos in 27 of the first 38 air samples it took in lower Manhattan before Sept. 17, 2001. But the city didn't publicly disclose those results until five months later." [Daily News (New York), 9/6/06]

Source: DNC

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