New York City releases documents about air quality after 9/11
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday that the city has made public 68 boxes of long‑hidden documents that warn officials were worried about toxic air after the Twin Towers collapsed, while the public was told it was safe.
“People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air,” the mayor said at a press conference in front of 9/11 survivors.
The documents were discovered last year after the city claimed it didn’t have them, and they come as a result of a lawsuit filed by 9/11 Health Watch demanding those records be released.
City officials plan to open hundreds of thousands of pages of air‑quality reports online during the 25th anniversary of the attacks, spending more than $34 million on the effort.
The papers detail how much asbestos and other pollutants were found in the city’s air, noting that the confusion about the exact toxic level only emerged in October 2001.
Jon Stewart, a media personality and 9/11 survivor, described how the city’s delayed messaging “broke the bubble” for many, saying they only buried the information for 25 years.
The first notable file, the October 2001 “Harding Memo,” warned that the city could face up to 35,000 legal claims because early advisories may have led people to return to the area too soon.
In the weeks following the attacks, officials and the EPA declared the air near Ground Zero safe, a statement later apologized by then EPA head Christine Todd Whitman.
Research shows illness from the dust and smoke that followed the collapse has claimed twice as many lives as the attacks themselves.
Former FDNY EMT Elizabeth Cascio said she suffered chronic sinus problems and headaches after responding to the attacks, describing how “you had to hold your breath” to avoid inhaling the toxic particles.
More documents will be published over the coming year as the city continues the transparency project, sparking widespread debate about accountability and long-Term health risks.
