Juan González on Lasting Impact of 9/11 Toxic Exposure as NYC Faces Calls to Release Suppressed Files

The September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center in New York City was a major polluting event. Debris from the collapse of the buildings spread toxic substances, including asbestos, lead, mercury and more, throughout the disaster zone. As New York City leaders issue new calls for the release of files detailing the extent of this pollution, we revisit the reporting of Democracy Now! co-host Juan González, the author of Fallout: The Environmental Consequences of the World Trade Center Collapse. “What I tried to warn about in the series of articles that I wrote about the dangers, the health dangers, in the future for people who were living in or working at ground zero have proven to be true,” he says about his reporting on political leaders’ early denials of post-9/11 health risks. “More people have died as a result of illnesses contracted after the collapse of the World Trade Center than died on that day.”