New Evidence Exposes Lethal Consequence of Rudy Giuliani's Poor 9/11
Decisions
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 URL:
http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/05/new_evidence_ex.php
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get real. like jesus would ever own a gun or vote republican.
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