In the days following 9/11, EPA officials assured the public that the air in Lower Manhattan was safe to breathe and that residents and workers could return to the area. These statements were based on the judgment of experienced environmental and health professionals at the EPA OSHA and the CDC, who had analyzed the test data that 13 different organizations and agencies were collecting in Lower Manhattan.

However, clinical reports from the Mount Sinai World Trade Center Screening and Monitoring Program have shown that 70 percent of the 9,000 workers at the Trade Center site reported respiratory problems.

Answer the following questions:

• Provide your opinion on why EPA analysis of air quality might not always be accurate.
• Assess whether EPA actions are always objective in serving their mission to protect the environment or are their actions based in part on political agendas? Justify your response.