New York releases 170,000 pages on post-9/11 toxic air concerns
The records, released after legal action by 9/11 Health Watch, examine what city officials knew about air quality, health risks and potential liability after the attacks.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has released about 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed records on toxic air and health concerns following the 11 September 2001 attacks.
The release was made under an agreement with 9/11 Health Watch, a victims’ advocacy group that pursued legal action to compel the city to publish the documents. Further records are expected to be released online in stages over the next 12 months.
New York’s chief counsel, Steven Banks, said some documents concerned discussions during Rudy Giuliani’s administration about health risks and the city’s potential legal liability. Giuliani was mayor when the attacks occurred; his spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Another document records information provided during Michael Bloomberg’s tenure about concerns raised by Lower Manhattan residents over air quality. The records also address the city’s response, asbestos concerns and official knowledge of conditions in Lower Manhattan and western Brooklyn.
The September 2001 attacks killed 2,977 people in the United States. A federal medical monitoring programme says more than 9,400 people have since died from related illnesses, although the released documents have not yet been independently assessed and do not by themselves establish the extent of any concealment or direct health consequences.
