The Bush administration’s former top environmental official has apologized for telling the public the air in Lower Manhattan was safe to breathe after the 9/11 attacks. Christine Todd Whitman was head of the Environmental Protection Agency in 2001. In the days after the World Trade Center towers collapsed, Whitman repeatedly stated there was no threat of toxic air pollution.
Christine Todd Whitman: “Everything we’ve tested for, which includes asbestos, lead and VOCs, have been below any level of concern for the general public health.”
Speaking to The Guardian, Whitman acknowledged for the first time that her statements put people’s lives in jeopardy. She said, “I’m very sorry that people are sick. I’m very sorry that people are dying, and if the EPA and I in any way contributed to that, I’m sorry.” Whitman’s apology came as The Guardian reported the death toll among those sickened by the toxic fallout of ground zero will soon exceed the number of people killed on the day of the 9/11 attacks.