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To the editor:
Wallowing in the ruins of the frighteningly incompetent and authoritarian-driven Trump administration, it’s important that the American people focus not only on the upcoming midterms but also on remembering the lasting consequences of the ruins from the 9/11 attacks.
One outcome was the bad-faith responses by federal and city officials about the toxic air at Ground Zero that engulfed the surrounding areas of lower Manhattan. It had life and death outcomes for a number of New Yorkers.
According to data from the Center for Disease Control’s World Trade Center Health Program, over 145,000 people in 2026 are receiving treatment for illnesses caused by the Twin Towers collapse.
These include 57,000 cancer patients. Since 9/11, nearly 10,000 people have died from related illnesses.
Only days after the attacks, federal, local and business leaders made a concerted effort to claim that the area around Ground Zero was safe. Yet toxic chemicals and metals – dioxins, PCBs, benzenes, lead – were being released into the environment. Asbestos from the Twin Towers would still be detected ten months later, one-half mile from Ground Zero.
Within a week, President George Bush personally ordered the re-opening of the financial district. Mayor Giuliani said, “The air is safe and acceptable.”
EPA head Christine Todd Whitman said, “Everything we’re getting back from the sampling that we’re doing is below background levels.” Mayor Giuliani and Mayor Bloomberg urged New Yorkers to return to their homes, work sites and schools near Ground Zero.
On Sept. 7, the Mamdani administration released over 170,000 pages of documents. They discussed air quality near Ground Zero in the weeks and months after the 9/11 attacks.
The Mayor concluded that city leaders “lied” about air quality in areas around WTC. The New York Times headline on Sept. 7th was “After 9/11, Documents Suggest New Yorkers Were Misled About Air Quality.”
Neither in Washington nor in New York City was there any effort by subsequent administrations to address the issue of air safety after the Twin Towers collapsed and in the months that followed.
Howard Elterman
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