New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project

Last updated

New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project
Formation2003
Headquarters New York, NY
Director
Jim Woodworth
Website

The New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project was founded in New York City in 2003 with the stated purpose of treating rescue workers for toxins inhaled from the smoke of the September 11 attacks. [1] It has two clinics: Downtown Medical on Fulton Street, two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center, and another at Williston Park, Long Island. [2] [3] [4] The project's co-founder and top fundraiser is actor Tom Cruise. [1] It uses the Purification Rundown, a detoxification program invented by L. Ron Hubbard as part of Scientology's Bridge to Total Freedom. This rundown has been criticized by many doctors as pseudoscientific and medically dangerous. [1] [5] [6] It was reported in October 2007 that 838 people had completed the New York program. [7]

Contents

The project has been supported by some public officials, and received some public funding, but received criticism for its financial ties to the Church of Scientology, [1] for exposing rescue workers to potential medical dangers, [8] and for discouraging use of orthodox medicine. [3] Sources in the Fire Department told a reporter that several participants had joined Scientology, even disconnecting from their families. [9]

Background

Tom Cruise criticises EPA

Tom Cruise explained his motivation for setting up the project in a Scientology promotional video that leaked onto the internet in January 2008. [10] The Environmental Protection Agency had stated after the World Trade Center attack that the air was safe to breathe. The video narration contradicted this, saying, "The devastation had spread an unprecedented combination of toxins through the air — and it was lethal." [11] Cruise is seen dismissing the EPA's all-clear: [10]

Of course, as a Scientologist, you go, that's a lie. Outright lie. Liar. Fine. Finally you say, dammit, just go there and do it. Put it there, let's go, here's the money, let's go. Let's just get one person treated. I can't sleep another night.

In an appearance on CNN's Larry King Live , Cruise said that he founded the project out of concern that 9/11 survivors would suffer leukemia, Parkinsonism, multiple sclerosis or cancer as a result of toxins lodged in their fatty tissue. He advocated Hubbard's purification program as the only way to deal with these problems, claiming, "Doctors do not know how to diagnose chemical exposures ... You go to a doctor and now he's going to put you on more and more drugs, steroids and things that are ineffective." [12]

Detoxification in Scientology

The principles of the detoxification program were described in the Scientology book Clear Body, Clear Mind . [1] [13] Known as the "Purification rundown" or "Purif", the program is promoted through various groups affiliated with the Church of Scientology, including the Narconon and Second Chance programs. [5] It claims to flush poisons from the body's fat stores using exercise, saunas, and the consumption of oil and high doses of vitamins, particularly niacin. Medical professionals have judged the method to be unproven, ineffective and/or potentially dangerous. [14] [15] [16] A report for the Department of Health in California described the mega-doses of vitamins as "hazardous" and "in some cases lethal." [17] Scientology's own literature reports dehydration, electrolyte disturbances including hyponatremia (low sodium level) and hypokalemia (low potassium level), and heat-related illnesses as being frequent side-effects of the program. [18] Testimonials from some participants credit it with improvements in physical and mental health, [6] [15] but several families blame the program for the death of a relative and several lawsuits have been filed against Scientology. [19]

The project's clients were required to attend this programme three hours each day, for between twenty-one and forty days. [20] This was promoted as a way to treat memory loss, respiratory problems, fatigue and other problems suffered by the Ground Zero workers. [20]

Finances and organization

From 2003 to 2007, Downtown Medical received US$900,000 in public funding, including $630,000 from the City of New York. The project also received private funding, the biggest supporter being Tom Cruise. [1] Other celebrity donors included Paul Newman, Paul McCartney, Adam Sandler, Leah Remini, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. [21] By late 2004, these donations amounted to $2.3 million. The detoxification program has been offered for free to rescue workers, and also offered to other New York City residents, some of whom paid $5,000. [2] [22]

According to tax filings, the project pays some of its money to two bodies that promote the Purification Rundown, both related to the Church of Scientology. These are the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE), which receives 5% of all contributions, and the Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education (FASE). [1] In 1981, Bill Franks, then Executive Director of the Church of Scientology, was involved in creating FASE; he later described it as a front group. [5] In one year, $173,300 of Downtown Medical's income went to Dr. Steven Lager, a Scientologist. [9] As of 2007, the director of the project was Jim Woodworth, [23] a former drug addict who credits his recovery to the Purification Rundown. [20] He was formerly the executive director of HealthMed, a Sacramento, California, group which promotes Hubbard's approach to detoxification. [20]

Endorsements and criticism

The project had a mixed response from public officials. Margarita López, a former member of the New York City Council, endorsed the program and helped it to win public funding. Subsequently, she received nearly $115,000 in campaign contributions from Scientologists. [16] [24] Another councillor, Joseph Addabbo, Jr., also supported the project, telling reporters, "The project seems to work. I've seen it firsthand." [25] Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke out against Addabbo and López for their connections with the program, [1] saying that Scientology is "not science, and we should only fund those programs that reputable scientists believe will stand the light of day". [23] [25]

Another supportive member of the City Council was Hiram Monserrate. Monserrate went through the program himself, and drafted official proclamations honoring both Tom Cruise and L. Ron Hubbard. [1] [25] Describing himself as a Christian, he distanced himself from Scientology but said he believes in the Purification Rundown. [26] [27] Another councillor (and chair of the Public Safety Committee), Peter Vallone, Jr., vocally criticized the detoxification project and argued that public money should not be spent on it. [1] He accused Monserrate of crossing the line between "cult and state". [28]

The project's publicity included favorable quotations from Senator Charles Schumer and from Michael Balboni, New York's deputy secretary for Public Security, though Schumer later withdrew his support and Balboni denied ever making the statement. [1] [16] Council speaker Christine C. Quinn denounced the program as meritless. [28] U.S. Representative Carolyn B. Maloney wrote a letter supporting the project. [24] Dr. Bob Hoffman of the New York City Poison Control Center warned that the Purification Rundown is potentially dangerous, calling it "hocus pocus". [29] Mayor Doreen Ehrbar of Williston Park took part in the opening ceremony for the Long Island clinic. [4]

Neither the New York City Police Department nor New York City Fire Department officially supported the project. [30] [31] The Uniformed Firefighters Association initially supported it, but withdrew when the connection to the Church of Scientology was revealed. [1] Firefighter Union President Patrick Bahnken said his members' lives had benefited from the program, and that it had involved no religious rhetoric. [23] [29] Deputy Fire Commissioner Frank Gribbon of the FDNY told The New York Times, "while we are aware some members of the department have availed themselves of the program, we in no way endorse it.” [3] Officials at the department raised concerns that firefighters were giving up existing medications in order to take part. [3] The department's deputy chief medical officer Dr. David Prezant said, "It's not our job to say you can't go. All we can do is say there's no proven evidence it works." [3]

Actress and radio show host Janeane Garofalo drew criticism by allowing actress Leah Remini, then a Scientologist, to promote the project on her Air America Radio show. [32]

Outcomes

It was reported in October 2007 that 838 people had completed the program. [7] The clinic displayed towels with colored stains, as evidence that toxic material had been sweated out in the saunas. According to its director, Jim Woodworth, during the Purification Rundown firefighters had passed odd-colored bowel movements and sweated out mercury, aluminium and magnesium. [20] The Fire Department's chief medical officer, Dr. Kerry Kelly, criticized the lack of objective evidence, saying, "I have trouble believing in these purple-stained towels." [20]

An investigation by the New York Press asked a number of independent doctors about the evidence for the Purification Rundown. None of them endorsed the program's effectiveness and some explicitly described it as dangerous. Several said that no peer-reviewed research on the rundown had been published in any medical journal. Some apparently supportive studies have been published, but these lack control groups and have other scientific failings. [1] [2] According to Deputy Fire Commissioner Frank Gribbon, doctors investigating the program on behalf of the Fire Department concluded that it was not detoxifying. [20] University of Georgia bioterrorism expert Cham Dallas also denied that the procedure could detoxify, saying "It sounds great and they mean well, but it just doesn't work." [22]

In 2007, James Dahlgren and colleagues published a small-sample pilot study assessing the project. [33] Dahlgren is a doctor who promotes the Purification Rundown as a method of detoxification. [8] The study claimed to find evidence both of elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in the rescue workers and improvement during the program. [33] Two scientists from Cambridge Environmental, Inc. published a thorough critique of the study. [8] They questioned the premise that World Trade Center rescue workers needed detoxification, citing studies that had found that their blood concentration of toxins was no greater than normal.

[W]ith few exceptions, people's body burdens of PCBs and other 'dioxin-like compounds' are determined almost exclusively by the food we eat, not by the air we breathe. Firefighters may occasionally receive on-the-job exposures to PCBs and PCDFs, but these would be from having fought PCB-containing electrical transformer fires, not from 9/11.

The paper argues that the project never properly tested its outcomes and concludes that application of the "potentially dangerous" Purification Rundown to the health problems of 9/11 workers is "unconscionable". [8]

Many of the participants spoke favorably of the program and reported improved physical and mental health. [22] Others said they were just taking advantage of the free saunas. [34] One Fire Department lieutenant was quoted describing colleagues as desperate for help with the distress they felt in the aftermath of the attacks, to the point that they would try anything. [3] [34] Fire Department officials raised concerns about the project, saying that firefighters were being required to give up inhalers, pills and other orthodox medication. [3] [20] [34] Two weeks into the program, one firefighter passed out and was taken to an emergency room with severe asthma, later saying that he had been asked to stop using his inhaler. [22] According to the clinic's associate medical director, Dr. Kawabena Nyamekye, participants were being helped off medication at their own insistence, not at the request of Downtown Medical. [20] A former worker at Downtown Medical told reporters that staff were discouraged from calling for an ambulance even in an emergency, and that one of them had been required to break off contact with her boyfriend because he had left Scientology. [35] A spokesman responded that the clinic had "a clear policy of calling 911 when needed." [35]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Cruise</span> American actor (born 1962)

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV is an American actor and producer. Regarded as a Hollywood icon, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for four Academy Awards. His films have grossed over $5 billion in North America and over $12 billion worldwide, placing him among the highest-grossing actors of all time. Cruise holds the Guinness World Record for the most consecutive $100-million-grossing movies, a feat that was achieved during the period of 2012 to 2018. One of the most bankable stars, he is consistently one of the world's highest-paid actors.

Narconon International is a Scientology organization which promotes the theories of founder L. Ron Hubbard regarding substance abuse treatment and addiction. Its parent company is the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE), which is owned and controlled by the Church of Scientology. Headquartered in Hollywood, California, United States, Narconon operates several dozen residential centers worldwide, chiefly in the U.S. and western Europe. The organization was formed in 1966 by Scientologist William Benitez with Hubbard's help, and was incorporated in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology controversies</span>

Since its inception in 1954, the Church of Scientology has been involved in a number of controversies, including its stance on psychiatry, Scientology's legitimacy as a religion, the Church's aggressive attitude in dealing with its perceived enemies and critics, allegations of mistreatment of members, and predatory financial practices; for example, the high cost of religious training:191 and perceived exploitative practices. When mainstream media outlets have reported alleged abuses, representatives of the church have tended to deny such allegations.

Detoxification or detoxication is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Additionally, it can refer to the period of drug withdrawal during which an organism returns to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance. In medicine, detoxification can be achieved by decontamination of poison ingestion and the use of antidotes as well as techniques such as dialysis and chelation therapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purification Rundown</span> Scientology pseudoscientific detoxification program

The Purification Rundown, also known as the Purif or the Hubbard Method, is a pseudoscientific procedure that advocates of Scientology claim is a detoxification program. There is no evidence for its efficacy in detoxification, and significant evidence from clinicians that it is dangerous. It involves heat exposure for up to 5 hours a day and can exceed 4 weeks in length. It can potentially cause heatstroke damage, which includes brain injury, heart problems, organ failure, and death. It was developed by Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard and used by the Church of Scientology as an introductory service. Numerous individuals have been hospitalised as a result of taking part in the process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volunteer Ministers</span> Scientology outreach group

A Volunteer Minister (VM) is a member of Scientology sent to a disaster zone to spread the doctrine of Scientology and provide disaster relief. The program was created in the 1970s by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Miscavige</span> Leader of the Church of Scientology (born 1960)

David Miscavige is an American Scientologist who is serving as the second and current leader of the Church of Scientology. His official title within the organization is Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Center. RTC is a corporation that controls the trademarks and copyrights of Dianetics and Scientology. He is also referred to within the Scientology organization as "DM," "COB" and "Captain of the Sea Org."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auditing (Scientology)</span> Methodology of Scientologists

Auditing, also known as processing, is the core practice of Scientology. Scientologists believe that the role of auditing is to improve a person's abilities and to reduce or eliminate their neuroses. The Scientologist is asked questions about past events while holding two metal cylinders attached to an electrical resistance meter (galvanometer) with a dial. The term "auditing" was coined by L. Ron Hubbard in his 1950 book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, which describes the process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminon</span> Scientology rehab program for prisoners

Criminon is a program for rehabilitating prisoners using L. Ron Hubbard's teachings. Criminon International, a non-profit, public-benefit corporation managing the Criminon program, was spawned from Narconon International in 2000, and is part of Association for Better Living and Education's public outreach programs. Criminon is promoted by the Church of Scientology International. Independent experts contend that methods used by the program are not supported by any scientific studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Scientology</span> American organization and business

The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The movement has been the subject of a number of controversies, and the Church of Scientology has been described by government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords, and numerous superior court judgements as both a dangerous cult and a manipulative profit-making business. In 1979, several executives of the organization were convicted and imprisoned for multiple offenses by a U.S. Federal Court. The Church of Scientology itself was convicted of fraud by a French court in 2009, a decision upheld by the supreme Court of Cassation in 2013. The German government classifies Scientology as an unconstitutional sect. In France, it has been classified as a dangerous cult. In some countries, it has attained legal recognition as a religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Rathbun</span> American Scientology whistleblower

Mark C. "Marty" Rathbun is a former senior executive of the Church of Scientology who last held the post of Inspector General of the Religious Technology Center (RTC), the organization that is responsible for the protection and enforcement of all Dianetics and Scientology copyrights and trademarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag Building</span> Scientology building in Clearwater FL

The Flag Building, also referred to as the Super Power Building, is the largest building in Clearwater, Florida. It is owned by the Church of Scientology and was built principally to deliver the Super Power Rundown, a high-level Scientology training course intended to train Scientologists to use what Scientology describes as all of their 57 "perceptics" or senses. The interior of the building contains training suites, course rooms, theaters and various devices intended to test these "perceptics," including a "time machine", an anti-gravity simulator, an "infinite" pit, and a pain station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Scientology</span>

This is a Timeline of Scientology and its forerunner Dianetics, particularly its foundation and development by author L. Ron Hubbard as well as general publications, articles, books and other milestones.

Hiram Monserrate is an American politician who served in the New York State Senate from 2009 until his expulsion in 2010. A Democrat, he previously served on the New York City Council from 2002 through 2008.

<i>Clear Body, Clear Mind</i> Scientology book, Purification Rundown

Clear Body, Clear Mind is a Scientology book compiled from L. Ron Hubbard material from the 1960s, which was published posthumously in 1990 by Bridge Publications, the Church of Scientology's publishing house. The book is considered part of Scientology's canon. It is the textbook for the Purification Rundown ("Purif"), which Scientologists believe is a detoxification program with medical and spiritual benefits, but has been criticized as pseudoscientific by medical professionals who have called it "dangerous", "quackery," and "in some cases lethal".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Davis (Scientology)</span> American financial executive

Thomas William Davis is an American financial executive. From 2005 to 2011, Davis was the head of external affairs and chief spokesperson of the Church of Scientology International and Senior Vice President at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International from the early 1990s. Between 2011 and 2013, Davis did not make any media public appearances. In June 2013, it was revealed Davis and his wife had relocated from Gold Base in Riverside County, California, to Austin, Texas. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citizens Commission on Human Rights</span> Scientology-related organization

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is an anti-psychiatry lobbying organization established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, its stated mission is to "eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections." It is regarded by most non-Scientologists as a Scientology front group whose purpose is to push the organization's anti-psychiatry agenda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology in the United Kingdom</span>

Scientology in the United Kingdom is practised mainly within the Church of Scientology and its related groups which go under names including "Hubbard Academy of Personal Independence" and "Dianetics and Scientology Life Improvement Centre". The national headquarters, and former global headquarters, is Saint Hill Manor at East Grinstead, which for seven years was the home of L. Ron Hubbard, the pulp fiction author who created Scientology. In the 2021 census, there were 1,844 individuals in England and Wales who listed themselves as Scientologists in their census returns, almost half of which lived in the area around East Grinstead in West Sussex, which hosts the British Scientology Headquarters at Saint Hill Manor. This is a decline of just under a quarter since census day, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Emerson Root</span> Chief Flight Surgeon, US Air Force and Senior Pilot

David Emerson Root is a United States Air Force physician known for promoting Niacin Protocol Sauna Detoxification to treat chemical exposure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology front groups</span> Organizations pretending to be not-Scientology

Scientology front groups are those groups named or operated in such a way as to disguise their association with the Church of Scientology (COS). COS uses front groups to promote its interests in politics, to make itself appear legitimate, and to recruit. The Times published, "[The church attracts] the unwary through a wide array of front groups in such businesses as publishing, consulting, health care and even remedial education." Many of the groups are founded on pseudoscience, named disingenuously, and underplay their links to Scientology.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 DeSio, John (May 31, 2007). "The Rundown on Scientology's Purification Rundown: What Scientologists aren't telling you about their detox program (and how much it's costing you)". New York Press .
  2. 1 2 3 Schaffer, Amanda (October 21, 2004). "Poisons, Begone! The dubious science behind the Scientologists' detoxification program for 9/11 rescue workers". Slate . Retrieved January 29, 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 O'Donnell, Michelle (October 4, 2003). "Scientologist's Treatments Lure Firefighters". The New York Times . p. 1. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
  4. 1 2 Whitely, Margaret (June 18, 2004). "Tom Cruise Opens Rescue Workers Detox Clinic". The Illustrated News (online edition). Anton Newspapers.
  5. 1 2 3 Sappell, Joel; Robert W. Welkos (June 27, 1990). "Church Seeks Influence in Schools, Business, Science". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  6. 1 2 Doward, Jamie (March 27, 2005). "Scientologists will 'purify' drug addicts - for £15,000". The Observer. Guardian News & Media. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
  7. 1 2 Carey, Art (October 7, 2007). "Clinic's results make 9/11 responders believe. Critics aside, they say Scientology's detox center cures ills". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Crouch, Edmund A. C.; Laura C. Green (October 2007). "Comment on "Persistent organic pollutants in 9/11 world trade center rescue workers: Reduction following detoxification" by James Dahlgren, Marie Cecchini, Harpreet Takhar, and Olaf Paepke [Chemosphere 69/8 (2007) 1320–1325]". Chemosphere. 69 (8): 1330–1332. Bibcode:2007Chmsp..69.1330C. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.05.098. PMID   17692360.
  9. 1 2 Friedman, Roger (December 22, 2006). "Tom Cruise Can't Put Out These Fires". Fox 411. Fox. Archived from the original on January 9, 2007. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
  10. 1 2 "Tom Cruise's 9/11 clean-up". The Boston Globe. January 18, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
  11. "Tom in Ground Zero tantrum". New York Post. January 18, 2008.
  12. "Interview With Tom Cruise". Larry King Live. November 28, 2003. CNN.
  13. Bouma, Gary D. (2006). Australian Soul: Religion and Spirituality in the 21st Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 9. ISBN   0-521-67389-5.
  14. Sommer, Mark (February 1, 2005). "Addiction specialists criticize detoxification program". Buffalo News .
  15. 1 2 Carey, Art (October 7, 2007). "Clinic's results make 9/11 responders believe". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on October 24, 2007.
  16. 1 2 3 Sommer, Mark (August 6, 2005). "Schumer backs off support for program". Buffalo News .
  17. Roberton, Craig (December 28, 1981). "Narconon". St. Petersburg Times. pp. 1B. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
  18. Al-Zaki, Taleb; B. Tilman Jolly (January 1997). "Severe Hyponatremia After Purification". Annals of Emergency Medicine. 29 (1). Mosby: 194–195. doi:10.1016/S0196-0644(97)70335-4. PMID   8998113.
  19. Dougherty, Geoff (March 28, 1999). "Store selling Scientology vitamin regimen raises concerns". St. Petersburg Times . Archived from the original on November 11, 1999. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Gittrich, Greg (December 13, 2003). "Bravest taking the Cruise cure". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on December 16, 2003. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
  21. Dunleavy, Steve (June 12, 2007). "Cruise's Clinic OK". New York Post .
  22. 1 2 3 4 Gilmore, Heather (August 15, 2004). "Scientology 'Detox' Furor: clinic draws client raves and researcher jeers". New York Post.
  23. 1 2 3 Bonawitz, Amy (April 20, 2007). "Tom Cruise Raises Money For 9/11 Detox". CBSNews.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  24. 1 2 Schindler, Paul (August 5, 2005). "Margarita Lopez stays mum through Scientology flap". Downtown Express. Vol. 18, no. 11. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
  25. 1 2 3 Seifman, David (April 20, 2007). "Crui$e is 'Detox' of De Town". New York Post .
  26. Jose, Katharine (April 22, 2008). "Mad-Dog Councilman Champions No Man's Land". New York Observer. Archived from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  27. "Monserrate Defends Detox Program". New York Observer. April 21, 2007. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  28. 1 2 Seifman, David (April 19, 2007). "Mike Thumps Tom: blasts city honor for Scientology's Sept. 11 'Detox'". New York Post.
  29. 1 2 AP and Post Wire Services (April 19, 2007). "Crui$ing for Cash". New York Post .
  30. de Vries, Lloyd (April 6, 2007). "Cruise To Host Gala For 9/11 Detox: Report". CBSNews.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  31. Friedman, Roger (April 19, 2007). "FDNY Hierarchy Furious With Tom Cruise Over Scientology Detox for 9/11 Workers". Fox News . Archived from the original on February 3, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
  32. Walls, Jeannette (May 2, 2006). "Garofalo gushes over Scientology-linked project". Today.com. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
  33. 1 2 Dahlgren, James; Marie Cecchini; Harpreet Takhar; Olaf Paepke (October 2007). "Persistent organic pollutants in 9/11 world trade center rescue workers: Reduction following detoxification". Chemosphere. 69 (8): 1320–1325. Bibcode:2007Chmsp..69.1320D. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.05.127. PMID   17234251.
  34. 1 2 3 O'Donnell, Michelle (October 4, 2003). "NYC Clinic has Scientology ties". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 4.
  35. 1 2 Friedman, Stefan C. (August 4, 2005). "Scientology Clinic Bad Medicine: Ex-Worker". New York Post.