NYC expected to release 170,000 pages showing officials knew air quality after 9/11 was unsafe

Beth A. Keiser/AFP/Getty Images

New York City is expected to release more than 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed records about air quality following the September 11, 2001, attacks, showing city officials at the time knew conditions around Ground Zero were unsafe to breathe despite repeated assurances to the public.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to announce the release Tuesday, according to city officials.

The officials confirmed the records will include contamination data gathered by local environmental agencies in the days following the attacks as well as air quality reports and communication between city officials showing there was concern about the air quality and whether the city could be legally liable as a result of the public’s exposure to the toxins.

Mamdani had previously announced the city would set aside $34 million to create a public portal to publish the documents. The disclosure is expected to give the public a better understanding of how the city responded following the collapse of the World Trade Center as officials raced to restabilize Lower Manhattan and open the area.

The documents were among 68 boxes stored in a city government office that were discovered last year and are being released ahead of Friday’s 25th anniversary of the attacks, according to city officials.

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Remembering 9/11: Support first responders and affected families

For years, survivors and first responders – including many who were sickened from exposure to toxins in the air following – have called for more transparency and demanded the release of the documents. The advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch had sued the city for release of the records. CNN has reached out to the group for comment.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on 9/11, but thousands more – including first-responders who spent months working at the site – have since died from 9/11-related cancers and other illnesses.

Mamdani is expected to appear alongside 9/11 families and Jon Stewart , a longtime advocate for increased transparency and resources for first-responders and survivors.

Beth A. Keiser/法新社/盖蒂图片社

纽约市预计将公布 17 万多页此前未公开的关于 2001 年 9 月 11 日袭击事件后空气质量的记录，这些记录显示，尽管一再向公众保证，但当时的市政府官员知道世贸中心遗址周围的空气状况不安全。

据市政府官员透露，市长佐兰·马姆达尼预计将于周二宣布这一消息。

官员们证实，这些记录将包括袭击发生后几天内当地环保机构收集的污染数据，以及空气质量报告和市政府官员之间的沟通记录，这些记录表明他们对空气质量感到担忧，并担心由于公众接触毒素，市政府可能要承担法律责任。

马姆达尼此前宣布，市政府将拨款3400万美元建立一个公共门户网站，用于发布这些文件。此次文件公开预计将让公众更好地了解在世贸中心倒塌后，市政府如何应对，以及官员们如何争分夺秒地重建曼哈顿下城并重新开放该地区。

据市政府官员称，这些文件是去年在市政府办公室发现的 68 个箱子中的一部分，将在周五袭击事件 25 周年纪念日之前公布。

安吉拉·韦斯/法新社/盖蒂图片社

铭记9/11：支持一线救援人员和受影响家庭

多年来，幸存者和救援人员——包括许多因吸入事发后空气中的毒素而患病的人——一直呼吁提高透明度，并要求公开相关文件。倡导组织“9/11健康观察”（9/11 Health Watch）曾起诉纽约市政府，要求公开这些记录。CNN已联系该组织寻求置评。

9/11事件造成近3000人死亡，但此后又有数千人（包括在现场工作数月的救援人员）死于与9/11事件相关的癌症和其他疾病。

预计马姆达尼将与 9/11 事件的遇难者家属以及长期倡导提高一线救援人员和幸存者透明度和资源的乔恩·斯图尔特一同出席。