“Toxic Air” Revealed 25 Years After 9/11: New York City Releases 170,000 Pages of Documents

[Financial News] Documents released 25 years later suggest that New York City may have known about hazardous air pollution during the 2001 9/11 attacks but told residents that the air was safe.
On the 8th, local time, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released more than 170,000 pages of documents online to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The records contain information on air quality and pollution conditions. City officials explained, "The materials were discovered last year after remaining undisclosed for more than 20 years in 68 boxes in City Hall offices."
An audit report prepared in November 2001 stated, "Airborne concentrations of the carcinogen benzene continued to rise at the World Trade Center site." It also said, "Traces of asbestos were found as far as about 800 meters from the site even 10 months after the attacks." This contradicted the position taken at the time by city and federal authorities, who had said that "air quality was generally safe."
Mayor Mamdani said the documents were being released "to ensure transparency and accountability toward victims’ families, survivors, and first responders." New York City allocated a budget of $34 million (approximately 45.5532 billion won) for the release project. It plans to publish additional materials found in city and insurance company offices over the coming year.
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