ABSTRACT
On September 11, 2001, aerial terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC)
led to its collapse, producing a plume of dust and ash that spread throughout
lower Manhattan and beyond (1). Concurrent with this physical destruction,
combustion of approximately 91,000 liters of aircraft fuel ignited numerous
structural fires, many of which smoldered until mid-December of 2001. An
estimated 525,000 people, including over 90,000 workers were potentially
exposed to the resulting pollutants during the collapse, rescue, recovery, and
cleanup efforts (2,3). Pulverized building materials predominated in the initial
period post collapse, while combustion-derived pollutants increased as rescue,
recovery, and cleanup progressed (4). The fires at the site created toxic com-
bustion products such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins,
volatile organic compounds, and various other known carcinogenic compounds
(1,4-6). Contaminants such as asbestos, hydrochloric acid, polychlorinated biphen-
yls (PCBs), silica, and heavy metals were found in the dust and ash resulting
from the WTC collapse (1,4,5).
