July 2011 the dust cloud and the air ( PDF ) First Periodic Review of
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Scientific and Medical Evidence
Related to Cancer for the
World Trade Center Health Program
II. Review of Exposures
The destruction of the WTC in Lower Manhattan produced a plume consisting of a unique and complex mixture of chemical agents (including particulates) and exposed a large population of workers and the general public to this mixture. The exposures associated with the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were multiple and included
physical and chemical agents—some known or reasonably anticipated to be human car
The fires were started by the ignition of 91,000 liters of jet fuel from the two commercial
aircraft that crashed into the towers and spread to an estimated 100,000 tons of organic
debris, 490,000 liters of transformer oil, 380,000 liters of heating and diesel oil, and fuel
from several thousand automobiles which were stored in subterranean structures of the
WTC [Pliel et al. 2004]. The plume contained the combustion products of jet fuel, soot,
metals, volatile organic compounds, and hydrochloric acid. It also contained particulate
matter from pulverized building materials such as cement and glass, as well as building
contents, which produced cement dust, glass fibers, asbestos, crystalline silica, metals,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated furans,
organochlorine pesticides and dioxins [Lioy 2002; McGee et al. 2003]. As the plume
moved away from the towers, particulate and semi-volatile components were deposited
for miles around Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and beyond. The components and concentrations of the plume likely changed rapidly over the first few hours after the burning
and collapse of the WTC towers and as the plume moved away from the epicenter.
Unfortunately, no air sampling devices were operating close to the WTC site to characterize and quantify the constituents of the dust cloud and smoke plumes, and people’s
exposures to the specific agents and concentrations in the early portions of the disaster
will never be known with certainty. After the WTC towers had collapsed, fires in the
building rubble continued to burn until December of 200
B. Agents in the Dust
1. Chrysotile Asbestos
2. metals calcium, iron, and zinc, also in the dust: aluminum, antimony,
titanium, and magnesium
3. Polychlorinated Polycyclic Compound / includes 17 polychlorinated dibenzodioxin (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) congene
4. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon - products of
incomplete combustion
5. Volatile Organic Compound - 11 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including the known human carcinogen benzene
6. Crystalline Silica not at ground zero but elsewhere
7. Fibrous Glass - from fiberglass insulation, fireproofing, or ceiling tiles
8. Particulate Matter (Dust) from cement and gypsum wallboard,
9. Tritiated Water - sources emergency signs in the planes
weaponry sites , and tritium watches
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Scientific and Medical Evidence
Related to Cancer for the
World Trade Center Health Program
II. Review of Exposures
The destruction of the WTC in Lower Manhattan produced a plume consisting of a unique and complex mixture of chemical agents (including particulates) and exposed a large population of workers and the general public to this mixture. The exposures associated with the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were multiple and included
physical and chemical agents—some known or reasonably anticipated to be human car
The fires were started by the ignition of 91,000 liters of jet fuel from the two commercial
aircraft that crashed into the towers and spread to an estimated 100,000 tons of organic
debris, 490,000 liters of transformer oil, 380,000 liters of heating and diesel oil, and fuel
from several thousand automobiles which were stored in subterranean structures of the
WTC [Pliel et al. 2004]. The plume contained the combustion products of jet fuel, soot,
metals, volatile organic compounds, and hydrochloric acid. It also contained particulate
matter from pulverized building materials such as cement and glass, as well as building
contents, which produced cement dust, glass fibers, asbestos, crystalline silica, metals,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated furans,
organochlorine pesticides and dioxins [Lioy 2002; McGee et al. 2003]. As the plume
moved away from the towers, particulate and semi-volatile components were deposited
for miles around Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and beyond. The components and concentrations of the plume likely changed rapidly over the first few hours after the burning
and collapse of the WTC towers and as the plume moved away from the epicenter.
Unfortunately, no air sampling devices were operating close to the WTC site to characterize and quantify the constituents of the dust cloud and smoke plumes, and people’s
exposures to the specific agents and concentrations in the early portions of the disaster
will never be known with certainty. After the WTC towers had collapsed, fires in the
building rubble continued to burn until December of 200
B. Agents in the Dust
1. Chrysotile Asbestos
2. metals calcium, iron, and zinc, also in the dust: aluminum, antimony,
titanium, and magnesium
3. Polychlorinated Polycyclic Compound / includes 17 polychlorinated dibenzodioxin (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) congene
4. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon - products of
incomplete combustion
5. Volatile Organic Compound - 11 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including the known human carcinogen benzene
6. Crystalline Silica not at ground zero but elsewhere
7. Fibrous Glass - from fiberglass insulation, fireproofing, or ceiling tiles
8. Particulate Matter (Dust) from cement and gypsum wallboard,
9. Tritiated Water - sources emergency signs in the planes
weaponry sites , and tritium watches
