Suzanne Mattei Quotations

Should Americans feel assured that our federal government will do a better job of protecting health and safety in any future disaster? The answer appears to be no. Health and safety agencies will not be in the drivers' seat.

The purpose of the documentary was to reach out to people who didn't really know what happened at Ground Zero, who don't really understand why so many workers are sick. It's the first time that this issue of Ground Zero pollution and health impacts has been the focus of a documentary on national television, that alone is a cause for concern because people should have known about it before. What happened here could happen somewhere else.

Residents and workers still await a proper toxic cleanup and medical response to the World Trade Center attack. That weak track record and the troubling new federal policies described in this report do not bode well for the future. Americans should assume that in any future national disaster, human health and safety may not be protected.

The inevitable conclusion is that Americans cannot count on the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Department of Homeland Security, EPA or OSHA to protect public health properly in the aftermath of a terrorist attack or national disaster. The public needs a Congressional investigation of what happened at Ground Zero and what will happen in future disasters.