New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration has released more than 170,000 pages of documents that raise new questions about the safety of the air around Ground Zero in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The records, some of which were discovered in 68 boxes at the Department of Environmental Protection in 2025, date back to the period following the attacks.

This release comes just days before the 25th anniversary of the attacks that killed 2,977 people. Thousands have since died from illnesses linked to exposure to the toxic dust and debris, while many more continue to suffer from related health conditions, according to health authorities.

Mamdani stated during a press conference that "People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air." These newly released documents suggest a departure from earlier assurances.

On September 18, 2001, then-EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman had issued a press release stating that monitoring results indicated the air near the World Trade Center was safe to breathe, following earlier EPA assurances from September 13. However, the newly released documents detail findings that challenge this narrative.

Lingering Asbestos Contamination

The documents reveal that ten months after the attacks, asbestos was detected at the roof of a building at 15 John Street, less than a mile from Ground Zero. While some locations showed asbestos levels below applicable benchmarks, others appeared to exceed them. Health authorities have consistently stated there is no known safe level of asbestos exposure.

One of the most significant findings detailed in the trove of documents relates to Stuyvesant High School, located less than half a mile north of the World Trade Center. Testing in August 2002, nearly a year after the attacks, revealed what parents described as "extremely high levels of asbestos" in the school's auditorium carpeting. A sample from the auditorium carpet, tested using an EPA-recognized method, showed asbestos concentrations of approximately 2.5 million structures per square centimeter. This level was roughly 500 times higher than the EPA's Lower Manhattan Test and Clean Program benchmark for professional cleaning, which called for action when settled dust exceeded 5,000 asbestos structures per square centimeter.

Resident and Official Concerns

In July 2002, over 10 months post-attack, the Independence Plaza North Tenant Association (IPNTA) wrote to the EPA, arguing that the agency's cleanup of two Tribeca residential buildings had been insufficient and urged for broader environmental testing. Diane Lapson, the tenant association's environmental chair, criticized the reliance on visual inspections by the EPA and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, advocating instead for more comprehensive testing, including ultrasonication methods to reliably measure asbestos levels.

Lapson also noted that residents of Independence Plaza had suffered illnesses, including respiratory, sinus, and bronchial issues, as well as skin and eye infections, since 9/11, indicating a need for thorough cleaning of the complex.

Internal communications from the time also highlight concerns. A February 28, 2002, memo from a senior policy adviser to then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg summarized concerns raised by Rep. Jerrold Nadler regarding indoor air quality in Lower Manhattan. The memo warned of potential public relations and legal challenges for the city if Nadler's concerns about the EPA handing over air quality monitoring responsibilities to the city without adequate oversight were justified. The memo suggested that the city should discontinue advising residents to clean their apartments with wet mops and rags and instead seek FEMA funds for indoor cleanup.

Despite EPA announcements in September 2002 that contracts had been awarded for asbestos cleanup in Lower Manhattan, including the ZIP code encompassing Independence Plaza North, EPA litigation records indicate that asbestos contamination persisted in some Lower Manhattan apartments months later. Lori Mogol and Richard Zimbler, residents of Independence Plaza North, had elevated asbestos levels in their apartment as late as February 2003, with their dining room exceeding double the EPA's risk-based clearance level for asbestos, according to tests performed by their assigned contractor.