New air-quality documents reveal asbestos 'nearly everywhere' after 9/11 attacks - BBC News

Officials at the time assured the public the air was safe after the attacks, but the documents suggest there were concerns.

Image source, ReutersByMadeline HalpertPublished8 September 2026, 14:27 BSTUpdated 58 minutes agoNew York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a tranche of 170,000 documents that show officials had concerns about air quality in Manhattan soon after the 9/11 attacks, even as the public was told the air was safe.

The mayor said the documents reveal asbestos was found "nearly everywhere" they tested near Ground Zero, the site where the World Trade Center towers collapsed in 2001.

"People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air," Mamdani said at a news conference with survivors.

Illnesses related to the dust and smoke from the collapse of the Twin Towers have claimed more lives than the attacks themselves, US health officials say.

The document release resolves a lawsuit brought by advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch, which sued the city for the documents.