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Records that were long withheld by the city now reveal that the officials knew about Ground Zero’s toxic air in the years following 9/11 and chose to mislead the public.
On September 11th, 2001, Americans were initially met with confusion when the North tower was first hit. Minutes later, when the second plane struck the South Tower, that confusion quickly turned into fear.
While the collapse of both towers would reshape America’s geopolitical landscape for decades to come, those who lived and worked near Ground Zero would continue to endure the consequences of that day much closer to home.
Now, 25 years later, thousands of previously withheld documents about the air quality around Ground Zero following 9/11 have finally been released. With them, the full extent of what residents, workers, and first responders were exposed to is finally coming to light.
Public health post 9/11
Taking into the accounts of first responders, survivors, and those whose livelihoods centred around Lower Manhattan, an estimated 400,000 people were exposed to toxic air and dust following the attacks.
As these health effects began to manifest, the World Trade Center Health Program was established in 2011. Its aim was to provide medical monitoring and treatment for those with conditions linked to 9/11, and so far, 140 000 people have been enrolled to it.
Among those are 49,000 people who were diagnosed with cancers attributed to the toxic environment around Ground Zero. Sadly, the cases of those affected with cancer only continues to rise, among other illnesses including those respiratory, cardiovascular, and mental health related.
While 2,977 people were lost on the day, over 4,000 people were lost in the subsequent years to illnesses caused by toxic exposure.
Yet long before these health consequences became clear, questions were already being raised over what the city knew about the environmental risk surrounding Ground Zero.
Jerry Nadler and the 9/11 Health Watch
At the centre of the decades-long push for such answers is US Representative Jerry Nadler, who began raising concerns about the air quality around Ground zero, almost immediately after 9/11.
In 2001 and 2002, Nadler repeatedly accused government agencies, as well as the mayor at the time Rudy Giuliani, of ignoring important information about the potential dangers facing New Yorkers. This included findings of toxic fumes, asbestos, and dust across buildings and the air in Lower Manhattan.
But his push for answers did not stop there. Across four mayoral administrations, Nadler pushed for greater transparency. This fight was taken further by 9/11 Health Watch, a victim advocacy group led by Nadler’s former chief of staff, Benjamin Chevat.
After two decades, in 2024 the group filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, an initiative that allows the public to request records from government agencies. However, at the time, the mayoral administration that was ran by Eric Adams refused to open the archives, and so the 9/11 Health Watch sued the city.
And this where the city’s current mayor Zohran Mamdani comes in.
