- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has released more than 170,000 pages of documents showing city officials did not disclose all they knew about air toxicity after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
- The release came ahead of this Friday's 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, which killed 2,977 people in the United States, mostly in the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York.
- More than 9,400 people have died from illnesses linked to their exposure to the area in the years since, according to a federal medical monitoring program.
- The documents include the Harding Memo, which warned of potential legal claims and toxic exposure, indicating that the city could face as many as 35,000 legal claims for its response to the attacks.
- Toxic air quality was being recorded in Manhattan soon after the 9/11 attacks even as officials played down health risks to the public.
- Asbestos was found "nearly everywhere" tested near Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center towers collapsed in 2001.
- The release of documents resolves a lawsuit brought by advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch, which sued after officials said they did not have the records.
- City officials declared that the air near the Twin Towers was safe just days after the attacks, despite evidence of toxic air quality.
- Christine Todd Whitman, the head of the EPA at the time, later apologized for this declaration, saying the agency "did the very best we could at the time with the knowledge we had".
- Illnesses related to the dust and smoke from the towers' collapse have claimed more lives than the nearly 3,000 who died in the attacks, US health officials say.
- City officials found 68 boxes of documents last year, which had been hidden from the public.
- More than 44,000 people had been diagnosed with cancers related to 9/11, according to the World Trade Center Health Registry.
In a significant disclosure, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released over 170,000 pages of documents revealing that city officials misled the public about air quality following the September 11 attacks.1912
The documents indicate that officials were aware of toxic air conditions, including asbestos and other contaminants, yet continued to assure residents that the air was safe.7
"These are documents that show what the city knew about the toxic air around Ground Zero, when they knew it, and how they acted to limit liability," Mamdani stated.
The release coincides with the 25th anniversary of the attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 2,977 people. Since then, over 9,400 individuals have died from illnesses linked to their exposure to the toxic environment, according to federal health data.2
Advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch played a crucial role in obtaining these documents through legal action. Their director, Benjamin Chevat, criticized past administrations for withholding critical information, stating, "For 25 years, four different Mayoral administrations kept from the public... documents showing what the City actually knew about the danger of the toxic chemicals."8
The files include air-quality reports and communications among city officials, revealing that asbestos was found "nearly everywhere" near Ground Zero.
Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had previously assured the public of air safety, despite acknowledging the presence of unpleasant odors.
Mamdani emphasized the long-term health impacts, noting, "more people have died from 9/11-related illnesses than were killed on the day itself."
“The documents include the Harding Memo, which warned of up to 35,000 potential legal claims, and show asbestos was found 'nearly everywhere' near Ground Zero. More than 9,400 have died from 9/11-related illnesses, and the city's Department of Investigations is now probing what officials knew.”
ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Independent
