Over 3,000 people died in the 2001 terrorist attacks on the September 11th attacks in New York but the death toll is set to rise due to a hidden killer. The Twin towers which dominated the Manhattan skyline were completed in the early seventies and experienced much of their construction during a period in which Asbestos was perfectly legal.
The buildings were fireproofed throughout their construction but it was by the time builders had completed the 40th floors that asbestos was banned and alternatives were used. Despite the ban there was no rule forcing builders to remove existing material, of which the cost was estimated at more than the value of the buildings themselves.
When the planes crashed into the towers and the buildings eventually collapsed there was thousands of tonnes of debris blown into the air much of which was a combination of toxic gasses which remained present for over 5 weeks and continues to be lethal. The EPA declared the city safe for return after just 5 days but the toxins contaminated much of the area’s buildings, walls, furniture and air conditioning systems.
Despite the Environmental Protection Agency declaring the city safe for residents just a few days after the event many thousands of workers, volunteers and residents had already been exposed and if not were putting themselves at maximum risk by returning to the area. A study discovered that 76% of all surviving first responders, workers and local residents are already suffering from respiratory problems.
Around 100,000 people have reportedly been exposed to toxic materials which can cause a variety of lethal diseases such as Asbestosis, Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma. But this number does not include those who have visited and left New York since the attacks which could be much higher.
In 2006 a New York Fire Official died of Mesethelioma, Deborah Reeve was declared the first fatality of the 9/11 attacks directly linked to exposure to asbestos but if research has given accurate results she is unlikely to be the last victim of the attacks as experts say many more will suffer in years to come.
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