September 11 (9/11) Attacks
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building Washington, D.C., U.S.
Exposure to the toxins in the debris is alleged to have contributed to fatal or debilitating illnesses among people who were at Ground Zero. 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, but the EPA did not determine that air quality had returned to pre-September 11 levels until June 2002.
