Source: http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/48725630_rudy_giuliani_rudy_giuliani_rudy_giuliani_plays_politics_health_9_11_firefight...

Rudy Giuliani: Rudy Giuliani Plays Politics with Health of 9/11 Firefighters and Recovery Workers

Tue, 06/26/2007 - 12:46 — admin

June 25, 2007 -- Rather than take responsibility for failing to protect 9/11 firefighters and recovery workers from debilitating toxic air at Ground Zero, Rudy Giuliani has decided to play the blame game. Over the weekend, Giuliani's campaign tried to smear fellow Republican and former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman who will testify before Congress today over 9/11 health issues and air quality.

Despite Rudy's desperate attempts to shift blame, records show that his administration was aware of the toxic levels of asbestos in air samples of Ground Zero but he "sidelined" federal agencies with "extensive disaster response experience." Giuliani's administration assigned clean-up to an unknown city agency and 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 before Giuliani refuted concerns about the air quality and said the "air quality is safe and acceptable." [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]

As a result of Rudy Giuliani's poor decisions, "more than 2,000 New York City firefighters have been treated for serious respiratory problems." He also has yet to comment on evidence disclosed last month showing the dust from the destruction of the World Trade Center has been definitively linked to a death. Firefighters and 9/11 family members angered by Giuliani's lack of accountability have protested his campaign events and have filed lawsuits against the city. [The New York Times, 5/24/07; The New York Times, 5/14/07; New York Observer, 5/29/07]

"The way Rudy Giuliani has bucked responsibility for this serious health issue speaks volumes about his shabby brand of leadership," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney. "Instead of trying to smear a colleague, Giuliani should just truthfully answer the concerns of the firefighters and 9/11 families who are protesting his candidacy. As Americans learn more about Giuliani's refusal to take responsibility for his poor 9/11 decisions, they too will question his ability to lead the country."

Giuliani Misled Public, First Responders About Ground Zero Conditions, Leading To Widespread Health Problems; Now He Bucks Responsibility

Giuliani Touts Accountability. On the Giuliani Partners website, Giuliani is quoted as saying, "Nothing builds confidence in a leader more than a willingness to take responsibility for what happens during his watch." [Giuliani Partners, http://www.giulianipartners.com/accountability.aspx, accessed 6/25/07]

But, When the Truth About The Air Quality at Ground Zero Was Revealed, Giuliani Passed The Blame. Responding to former EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman's charges that the city didn't adequately address air quality problems, the Giuliani campaign passed the buck and blasted Whitman as the one at fault, issuing a fact sheet entitled "Setting The Record Straight" and saying that "Administrator Whitman never voiced any of these concerns at the time." [http://www.joinrudy2008.com/news/pr/318, accessed 6/25/07]

Giuliani Dismissed TEST RESULTS, Exposing Workers And Public

Giuliani Said Air Was Safe In Late September '01. 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." [Giuliani, 9/28/01 (emphasis added)]

But Giuliani Already Knew That The Air Was Toxic, After 27 Bad Test Results. Investigations by the media and the public interest groups revealed documents showing that "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. According to the Daily News, 27 of 38 tests before his statement that the air was safe showed elevated levels of asbestos. [UPI, 9/7/06; New York Post, 9/7/06; Daily News (New York), 9/6/06]

Giuliani Did Not Enforce Safety Standards. The Daily News reported, "Giuliani and the city failed miserably to enforce federal safety rules at the site. For weeks, the city did not ensure that every worker used proper respirators and decontamination methods - something federal inspectors noted in a highly critical report on Oct. 6, 2001." The New York Times wrote that official documents, interviews and legal testimony show that the city "never meaningfully enforced federal requirements that those at the site wear respirators." [Daily News (New York), 9/6/06; New York Times, 5/14/07]

Firefighters, Public Falling Ill By The Thousands

WTC Dust "Clearly Linked" To A Serious and Fatal Diseases. The World Trade Center toxic dust was directly linked to sarcoidosis, a debilitating and potential fatal disease that firefighters developed at 5 times the rate after exposure to the toxins. According to The New York Times, in a 2007 "clinical study to clearly link World Trade Center dust to serious and sometimes fatal diseases, doctors have found that the number of New York City rescue and recovery workers with a rare type of lung-scarring condition soared in the year after the trade center collapsed." [New York Times, 5/8/07, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/nyregion/08lung.html]

Several Firefighters Later Died and Thousands Fell Ill. Thousands of firefighters developed illnesses and what has become known as World Trade Center cough. "Beyond all doubt" the deaths of at least four responders were "a direct consequence of their service" at the WTC site according to the Daily News. [New York Times, 2/27/07; 5/14/07; Newsday (New York), 1/31/07; Daily News (New York), 7/25/06]

Healthcare Costs Starting Estimated At $250 Million Just For Workers. The Bush administration, after "impassioned pleas" by members of New York's congressional delegation, agreed in 2007 to spend $25 million to care for rescue workers, a down payment towards total costs estimated at $250 million. [New York Times, 1/31/07]

NYC FACING LAWSUITS FOR GIULIANI'S ACCTIONS

City Facing Lawsuits For "Inexcusable Violation" Of Safety Laws; Giuliani Administration Was Concerned About Lawsuits in 2001. Groups of recovery workers and first responders are suing the city. "Lawyers representing the workers argue that after the first two weeks the city was guilty of an ''inexcusable violation of basic safety laws'' because it did not ensure that the workers had proper protective equipment, like half-face respirators, and the training to use them." [New York Times, 6/23/06]

Source: DNC