October 2nd, 2006

A former chief investigator that was working on the Environmental Protection Agency inquiry relating to the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks spoke out recently and criticized government officials for deceiving the public with regards to the air quality in the area following the disaster.

Hugh Kaufman spoke out at a screening about illnesses that resulted following the 9/11 fall of the twin towers, and said: "Until we fix the broken government, none of us is safe." An internal report released by the EPA in 2003 indicated that the agency was made to amend press releases at the time to reassure the public about the quality of the air.

Kaufman alleges that the former administrator for the EPA, Christine Todd Whitman, was partly responsible for the manipulation of information, along with other government officials. Kaufman also released documentation that showed that the former administrator along with White House officials had told the agency to ‘reassure the public’ following the attacks.

The document also quoted an associate administrator for the EPA, Tina Kreisher, and it the document stated: "When asked whether there was a conscious effort to reassure the public, Ms. Kreisher said there was such an effort. This emphasis 'came from the Administrator and the White House."