Claim: 9/11 dust tests misleading

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.ph...5-080448-9700r

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- An Environmental Protection Agency scientist told the New York congressional delegation that the agency used misleading data about World Trade Center dust.

Cate Jenkins, a senior scientist at the agency's office of solid waste and emergency response, said in a letter to the delegation that reports on tests from 2002 and 2003 misrepresented the alkaline nature, or pH level, of the dust, The New York Times reported Friday.

Some doctors have theorized that many illnesses developed by recovery workers and nearby residents were contributed to by highly alkaline dust from the fallen towers, the Times said.

Jenkins claimed in the letter that misleading test reports had contributed "to emergency personnel and citizens not taking adequate precautions to prevent exposures."

However, agency spokeswoman Mary Mears said the EPA stands by its work.

"Dr. Jenkins has not participated in any aspect of the EPA's work on the World Trade Center," the statement said. "This appears to be a disagreement about scientific methods and not the validity of the results."