Bash Her If You Want...

“The issue is the EPA report that came out post 9/11. I have a particular interest in this in that it has hit my family personally. It's no secret to me that the EPA lied about the air quality at Ground Zero. I knew it as soon as they said, about a week or two after the incident, that the toxic levels in the air were safe enough for New Yorkers to go back to work in lower Manhattan. I work in midtown, but my wife, daughter and myself did volunteer work within 1/2 mile of Ground Zero. My daughter and I developed a chronic cough, the likes of which I wouldn't wish on anyone. In a nutshell, it lasted 5 months in it's most intense stages and still, to this day, comes back in a milder form. At it's worst, it prevented the flow of air to the point where I would gasp and wheeze and literally, hyperventilate until I could clear it. I was under the care of a lung specialist for quite some time and after trying several treatments, finally came upon the one that would slowly get me back to normal. My daughter exhibited similar symptoms and my wife's took hold a little later in time with asthmatic reactions that were pretty severe. The report was premature in that it came out with press releases prior to the testing of certain toxins. When asked about this, they replied that it is a draft report or some nonsense like that. Sorry, but this was a deliberate attempt to cloud this issue and nothing anyone will ever say or do will make me feel otherwise. My account is a first hand one. It was obvious at the time that Christie Whitman was at odds with the White House and it seemed evident that she was advised to play ball, judging from the silence that came from her department following the initial friction. GW Bush and Dick Cheney should only have to hack up a lung as badly as I described, right smack in the middle of a press conference, but they weren't there long enough to feel the effects. So, Hillary bashers: knock her all you want, but I, for one, think she is doing the right thing by the people who live here in trying to get some accountability for what transpired here.

Hillary”

“Hmmmmm, reminds me of the official government LIES about Agent Orange and Gulf War Syndrome.”

“The dangers of passive smoking have been known for a long time.

In this case it wasn't second hand tobacco you were inhaling but cremated people and buildings and clouds of asbestos.

I was curious about the asbestos claims as I thought asbestos was discontinued before the WTC was built, but a check shows the WTC built in 1966 and asbestos banned for building in 1970.

A lot of people travelled in to view the site, given what you have experienced, I am glad I didn't.”

“A lot of it was in the timing too. All of the volunteer work was started and finished within the first three weeks following the attack. Maple found these folks on Sept. 12. So, everything was fresh and new at the time...”

“Yeah – a buddy of mine was working to restore power to lower Manhattan in the first week. He didn’t need the government to tell him the air was unhealthy. Hope there are no long term effects for you or yours.”

“Thanks, V. I've been getting hit with it a bit more this summer. Doc gave me some med and it works, then comes back, works again, etc...


Thankfully, nowhere near the intensity of 2 years ago”

“I opened this up with trepidation, thinking, "What's Maple done to herself now?"”

“lol Geo! No, actually, it was Maple all the way aas far as opening the door to the volunteer work I was able to participate in. If not for her determination, I would probably not have sought it out on my own...”

“Well, even a stopped watch is correct twice a day.

Asbestos was only used about halfway up the buildings before it was banned. But yes, asbestos was blown into the air.

The biggest contaminate most likely was drywall dust. That fine mica powder is pervasive that alone will cause a nasty cough like you described. All the other nasties ejected into the air certainly didn't help either.

I'm so glad I no longer have to hang drywall.”

“Treebeard, do you still have your hacker's license?”

“That makes sense, HPM. And the timing is right about the asbestos, because the buildings were finished around 1972, I believe. The burning that the jet fuel caused created a stench as vial as you could imagine...”

“Yes, I do, TT. I should dig it out and post it!”

“I saw a show on the building of the Towers a while back and they mentioned the asbestos thing because the contractors had developed a "wet application" technology for use on the towers that eliminated the danger caused by dry application of asbestos. The show I saw implied that because of that technology the outright ban asbestos would have been unnecessary and all the government should have done was ban the method of application.

Interesting stuff.

I can imagine the stench. I grew up around Navy bases and while I was in Boy Scouts our meeting hall was next to the Military Firefighter school. They burned everything imaginable there. So I've smelled burning jet fuel before. I've also been around a couple of structural fires.

It's amazing just how toxic otherwise safe things become when burned.”

“That was a pun, Treebeard :]”

“Hack hack!”

“That is interesting, HPM. I never heard that about the application. I guess I just assumed that if the material is said to be hazardous, then it's automatically dangerous anyhow, anyway.



As for you other boys, ZOOM! Right over my head it went...”

“Honestly about half the raw materials contained in products we use everyday could kill us if delivered in a different form or quantity.

It's all in how we use it.”

“Recall the petroleum based interiors of commercial aircraft.”

“It may have been safe for the people applying it wet, but what about the trades that have to work on it after its up or do demolition work?”

“Nothing is designed to be demolished.”

“You mean to tell me Hillary was able to find something wrong with a federal agency? How did she manage that? She must have worked and worked on that for months to find something wrong. [sarcasm] I have no doubt the hag will blame Bush personally for it and say it is his fault. Everything the Clintons do seems to be for no other reason that to use as a political tool to try and harm the present administration. But that is the democratic way.

One score, hell one hundred scores, could never absolve her for being the political cancer that she is.



BTW-

Glad you and the family are doing better and are OK.”

“Thanks, Nig! I take what you say well. But, I have to say that I feel Bush should be accountable for this. In this instance, he's the cancer. It seems more than evident that the White House was not ignorant of what this agency came up with. Make the bed, sleep in it, my man!”

“Oh come on, Bush isn't accountable for anything, he was ordained(or was it annointed) by god.”

“If the reports are correct, the White House forced the EPA to pass all releases through the National Security Council in the White House for revision. They changed a lot of language in the report to make it seem that it was safe when in fact, the data was not in or supported more caution than the EPA advised. If that doesn't make Bush ultimately responsible, then he's a buck-passing whistle-ass.

After what the wingers did to the Clintons for 8 years and continue to do today, Nigal's post is really silly.”

“im sorry but Treebeard, I have to disagree with you on this. Im not sure why its Bushes fault?

this happened in NY. I walked around and saw all the Clean Air Counters(im not what they are called sorry) but the were all over the place. I asked one cop what they were and he told me that DEC had put them up to test the air.
So I think this is more the Mayor and Govenors fault because they should have done a follow job.
they had DEC people testing the Air for months and months following 9/11
Maybe DEC should be held accountable.”

“mapleleaf - You should know better than to contradict your man on political matters.
;)

Read this story for background:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/956255.asp”

“I swear I never do when it comes to these kinds of topics.

I stay clear of politics, but this is a issue that i need to pay attention to.”

“ok i read it. but in my heat i sill feel that NY should have taken care of us!
screw other departments and doen what needed to be done to protect New Yorkers.”

“Maple, the EPA is a federal agency. In states of emergency, the federal government typically steps in and declares a state of emergency. It has happened for a lot what happened on 9/11. The reports came from a federal agency and were coached by the White House. So, where is the mystery that this should fall into the lap of the federal government?”

“for a whole lot less than what...


it should read”

“You remember the tanks and US troops and fighters flying CAPs overhead those weeks, right?”

“yes sadly to say”