On February 11 , 2002 , Landrigan testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on the impacts of the September 11 attacks on the health of children . Landrigan addressed the issue of asbestos particles found in the air : '' " Almost no data exist on the possible long-term consequences of low level asbestos in early childhood . Causes of malignant mesothelioma have , however , been reported in the grown children of asbestos workers who were exposed to take-home asbestos ; among non-working women in the asbestos mining townships of Quebec who were exposed in the community ; and among long term residents of a community near an asbestos-cement plant in Northern Italy . " '' In October , 2001 , '' New York Magazine '' noted a disagreement between Landrigan and the EPA over the dangers posed by asbestos particles found in the air immediately after the September 11 attacks . While generally agreeing that significant risk was to the rescue workers alone , Landrigan disagreed with the EPA that tiny asbestos particles were too small to be considered dangerous , saying , " It 's been substantiated by 30 or 40 years of research that the smaller fibers are the ones that can penetrate most deeply into the lungs . " Landrigan graduated Boston Latin School in 1959 and Boston College in 1963 . He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1967 and completed his internship at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital and his residency at Boston Children 's Hospital
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Philip J. Landrigan