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.

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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.

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