World Trade Center, Collapse of The 26
World Trade Center, Collapse of The 26 : Aftermath: (3) Health Effects: Main articles: Health effects arising from the September 11 attacks and EPA 9/11 pollution controversy. The collapse of the World Trade Center produced enormous clouds of dust that covered Manhattan for days. On September 18, 2001, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a statement assuring the public that the air in Manhattan was "safe to breathe". In a report published in 2003, however, the EPA's inspector general found that the agency did not at that time have sufficient data to make such a statement. In fact, the collapse of the World Trade Center resulted in serious reductions in air quality and is likely the cause of many respiratory illnesses among first responders, residents, and office workers in lower Manhattan. Asbestosis is such an illness, and asbestos would have been present in the dust. In 2011 significant long term medical and psychological effects were found among first responders including elevated levels of asthma, sinusitis, Gastroesophageal reflux disease and posttraumatic stress disorder. The thousands of tons of toxic debris resulting from the collapse of the Twin Towers contained more than 2,500 contaminants, including known carcinogens. Subsequent debilitating illnesses among rescue and recovery workers are said to be linked to exposure to these carcinogens. The Bush administration ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue reassuring statements regarding air quality in the aftermath of the attacks, citing national security; however, the EPA did not determine that air quality had returned to pre-September 11 levels until June 2002
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