F1,
I forgot to cross my Ts and dot my I's.
In Whitman's "apology",I looked for wording that mentioned the limitations of the equipment circa 2001. Whitman didn't make that claim.
=
In 2003,EPA inspector General issued a report that said that White House "convinced EPA to add reassuring statements and delete cautionary ones" by having the National Security Council control EPA communications after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
"When EPA made a Sept. 18 announcement that the air was 'safe' to breathe, the agency did not have sufficient data and analyses to make the statement," the report says, adding that the EPA had yet to adequately monitor air quality for contaminants such as PCBs, soot and dioxin.
In all, the EPA issued five news releases within 10 days of the attacks and four more by the end of 2001 reassuring the public about air quality. But it wasn't until June 2002 that the EPA determined that air quality had returned to pre-Sept. 11 levels -- well after respiratory ailments and other problems began to surface in hundreds of workers cleaning dusty offices and apartments.
=
AP article here
http://www.seattlepi.com/national/article/White-House-edited-EPA-s-9-11-reports-1122465.phpEPA Inspector General report here
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-10/documents/wtc_report_20030821.pdfI think the report says that White House actions were done for "national security" issues.
People are expendable to the govt. Normally it's poor people who take the hit. The residents of lower Manhattan are generally wealthy people and I remember that one of their groups hired a private "air quality"consultant who told them that in no way was it safe for them to return to their homes. Poor people wouldn't have had the option of hiring an expert and being able to afford lodging while waiting to move back home.
==
Good points about the Washington Times article. Ir does quote Christie but doesn't detail where the quotes come from.
here is a Q and A Whitman did with the local newspaper, The Star Ledger in 2012
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2012/12/former_gov_christie_whitman_on.htmlQ. Let’s talk about the environment: You said in a 2007 Washington Post interview that you resigned as EPA director because Vice President Dick Cheney insisted on easing air pollution rules.
A. I didn’t say it that way. But that was the final straw.
