What was known about post-9/11 air

[G_j]

What was known about post-9/11 air
http://www.msnbc.com/news/961134.asp?pne=msntv

Just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the agency responsible for the environmental health of Americans declared the air and water safe in New York. But now, in her first interview since the release of a troubling report, the Environmental Protection Agency's top watchdog says the agency didn't have the facts when it said it was safe to move back to the neighborhoods near Ground Zero. And she's pointing the finger all the way to the White House.
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CHANGED PRESS RELEASES
       So what happened? Tinsley's report charges, in the crucial days after 9/11, the White House changed EPA press releases to "add reassuring statements and delete cautionary ones."
Sept. 13: The EPA draft release — never released to the public — said: EPA "testing terrorized sites for environmental hazards." The White House changed that to EPA "reassures public about environmental hazards."
Sept. 16: The EPA draft said: "Recent samples of dust ... on Water Street show higher levels of asbestos."
       The White House version: "New samples confirm ... ambient air quality meets OSHA standards" ... and "is not a cause for public concern."
       And the White House left out entirely the warning "that air samples raise concerns for cleanup workers and office workers near Water St."
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Transcript of interview with Nikki Tinsley:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/961109.asp