New York Releases Over 170,000 Pages of 9/11 Air Quality Records

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday the online release of roughly 170,000 pages of records related to air quality and environmental monitoring after the September 11 attacks. The documents, retrieved from 68 boxes at the Department of Environmental Protection in 2025, include memos, testing results and correspondence dating from the immediate aftermath through 2003.

The files reveal that asbestos was detected at several sites within a mile of the former World Trade Center, including the roof of a building at 15 John Street and carpeting in Stuyvesant High School’s auditorium. Testing at the school in August 2002 showed concentrations about 500 times higher than the EPA’s cleanup benchmark of 5,000 structures per square centimeter.

A February 28, 2002 memo from a senior adviser to then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg summarized Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s concerns that the Environmental Protection Agency had transferred indoor-air monitoring responsibilities to the city without adequate oversight. The memo warned of potential public-relations issues and lawsuits if residents were not fully informed about health risks.

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

Resident groups in Tribeca also challenged the EPA’s cleanup, citing continued asbestos levels in apartments months after remediation contracts were awarded. One tenant association letter from July 2002 criticized reliance on visual inspections and urged the use of ultrasonication testing methods.

The release comes ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks, as health officials continue to track illnesses linked to exposure to the dust and debris that settled over lower Manhattan.