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Asbestos and the World Trade Center: What Have We Learned From 9/11?
There has not been a more tragic event in recent U.S. history than the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. The image of the Twin Towers going down in a cloud of dust is an unforgettable one, but the contents of that dust, which contained asbestos, may continue to cause physical harm long after the attack.
Construction of The World Trade Center
With the completion of a 1,776 foot tall skyscraper at 1 World Trade Center in 2013, the New York City skyline regained some of what it lost with the toppling of the Twin Towers. The new building is a symbol of rebirth and of looking forward. Yet it’s also worth looking back at the original skyscrapers that once stood at the site and the implications of their collapse on public health.
Construction of the original World Trade Center was completed in 1973—two years after New York City banned the use of asbestos. According to the Meso Foundation, asbestos fireproofing material was used in the first 64 floors of the towers. It is estimated that the towers contained around 400 tons of asbestos fibers.
The Health Implications of 9/11
Asbestos is a human carcinogen that causes mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other diseases.
When the towers fell, 9/11 first responders rushed onto the scene to help survivors, unaware of the invisible asbestos fibers that hung thick in the air. Indeed, there is no way they could have known that the towers contained some 800,000 pounds of asbestos, and many responders did not even wear respirators for protection.
The dust from the fallen towers was found upon examination by environmental consultants to contain up to 3% asbestos. What’s worse, says the Meso Foundation, the dust generated by the towers contained asbestos fibers that were much shorter than those found in normal asbestos dust, and therefore more likely to penetrate the lung and cause mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that is caused exclusively by exposure to asbestos.
Residents, business owners and bystanders were also exposed to the World Trade Center dust as it spread over lower Manhattan. As was true of the 9/11 responders, the public was unaware of the risk of asbestos exposure posed by the dust and did not undertake proper precautions, including professional asbestos cleanup. The Meso Foundation estimates that approximately 114,000 people were exposed to asbestos during the 9/11 disaster.
With a latency period of 15 to 60 years, mesothelioma symptoms—such as difficulty breathing, chest pain, and fluid buildup in the lungs—may only begin to manifest now. Anyone who believes they were exposed to asbestos from the World Trade Center should seek medical consultation and mention their possible exposure.
You may also want to seek legal advice from a law firm such as Belluck & Fox, LLP that has substantial experience handling mesothelioma cases.
Joseph W. Belluck is a founding partner of Belluck & Fox, a New York mesothelioma law firm and previously worked as director of Attorney Services for Trial Lawyers Care, an organization dedicated to providing free legal assistance to victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Joe has gathered his experiences into a book called A Patient’s Guide to Mesothelioma that answers common questions and concerns about asbestos-related diseases.
