HERE'S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT 9/11'S UNSETTLED DUST :

 

A remarkable documentary, powerful and enraging. Every three minutes your jaw drops.

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- Amy Goodman

broadcast journalist and host of award-winning independent news show Democracy Now!

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Much was asked and much was given in the days and months after the destruction of New York’s World Trade Center towers. Firefighters, rescue workers, police, engineers, construction workers gathered at Ground Zero and throughout lower Manhattan because they were professionals, because it was their duty, and because they believed what their government told them about their own safety. Lisa Katzman’s 9/11’s Unsettled Dust documents with a blunt and infuriating precision the long campaign of silence and deceit that betrayed [our first responders].

     

- David Simon

television writer and producer of HBO series:The Wire,Treme, The Deuce

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9/11’s Unsettled Dust documents the true character of the 9/11 heroes. The actions of the first responders speaks louder than words. Real heroes always stand for justice to serve and protect all from further harm.

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- Ali M. Gheith

Director, Emergency and Disaster Management Program, Metropolitan College of New York

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This is a heart-wrenching and critically important film. For educators focused on teaching and environmental hazard and government accountability, the information and stories brought to light are indispensable.

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 - Nancy C. Loeb

Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Director, Environmental Advocacy Clinic, Northwestern University

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On the morning of 9/11 nearly every toxic material I have studied epidemiologically— asbestos, fine dusts, PCBs, dioxins, PAH, mercury and other metals, and more—was released in amounts far beyond those encountered in workplaces or other environments where serious health effects were established long ago. Thousands of responders, workers, and residents were exposed to intense concentrations, and continued to be exposed as cleanup proceeded. It is incomprehensible that anyone—least of all the administrator of the EPA—could report that there was no concern about possible health risks, especially with foreknowledge that her statements would be amplified, and form the basis of policy decisions. 9/11’s Unsettled Dust reminds us that what should have been an obvious public health response required intense grassroots organizing and pressure to attain this political milestone. A magnificent and moving documentary about the struggle for passage and renewal of the Zadroga Act.

 

- Dr. Steve Stellman

Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, Columbia University

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This film captures in shameful detail the devastating betrayal of first responders who fearlessly dove into the clean-up effort at Ground Zero. The epic toxicity, utter contamination, and ensuing public health apocalypse shown in stark relief on the wide screen ensured there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. As the wife of a first responder in New York City and a public health expert, this is a first rate account of the environmental hazard and occupational risk at an unprecedented scale. We should never forget the lessons learned and this film’s renewed call to conscience about the events of 9/11.

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-Dr. Diana Hernandez

Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University

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9/11’s Unsettled Dust proves that just like our military service men and women, deep in the heart of of America’s police, fire, EMS, and other responders is an unwavering love of country and other Americans. This important and powerful film shows that these heroic men and women not only lacked the proper protective equipment to prevent their exposure to toxins during the lengthy 9/11 clean-up operation, but that critical public health information could have helped save their lives was intentionally kept secret by the government. We send billions of dollars a year in troops and equipment overseas to protect civilians around the world but don’t protect our own first responders and citizens at home in the aftermath of toxic disasters. This is a cryin’ shame. 9/11’s Unsettled Dust should be watched by every American citizen and especially government officials so that we truly ‘never forget’ our 9/11 heroes at home.

 

- Lt. General Russell Honoré

33rd commanding general of the U.S. first army, Fort Gillem, Georgia; leader of the Green Army, a network of civic, community, and environmental groups and concerned citizens from across Louisiana

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The sadness, the struggle, the sacrifice, the triumph are all revealed in this remarkable film. The story of September 11th lives on.

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- Tom Fontana

television writer and producer of Oz, St. Elsewhere, City on a Hill

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The film makes a strong case that the Bush administration’s EPA and the Guiliani administration failed to project post-9/11 rescues and clean-up crews from well-known occupational health and safety hazards. Workers did not receive respirators and HAZWOPER gear, despite being exposed to dangerous concentrations of asbestos and toxic chemicals, and many later developed cancer, lung diseases, and other chronic ailments. 9/11’s Unsettled Dust demonstrates that a completely unnecessary workplace safety disaster followed the 9/11 attacks, and effectively dramatizes the struggles of the workers and their families for justice.

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- Josiah Rector

Assistant Professor of History, University of Houston; Author,Toxic Debt: An Environmental Justice History of Detroit

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Highly Recommended… Viewers will learn about the ailments first responders contracted from exposure to the Debis at Ground Zero. The issues pertaining to first responders fight for medical coverage through congressional lobbying and bureaucracy drives this sincere testament to heroism.. Populations seeking to effectuate change through peaceful demonstration and legislative maneuvering will be inspired. State university libraries as well as public libraries should consider including this title in their catalogs.

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- Andrew Koval

MSLS, Educational Media Reviews Online

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This eye-opening film examines the political hypocrisy and untruths, and follows grassroots efforts of volunteers… working tirelessly to advocate for federal legislation and funding for healthcare assistance to those suffering from post-9/11 physical and emotional ailments. Medical personnel, journalists, scientists, politicians, first responders, family members and others are interviewed in this documentary that vividly reveals ‘how government reserved the right to lie in the aftermath of disaster.’ Frightening.

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- Sue-Ellen Beauregard

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