Records Show NYC Misled New Yorkers About Air Quality After 9/11

BREAKING: After decades of questions, the public is finally getting answers. 

New York City has released more than 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed records concerning air quality and health risks following September 11, 2001.

The records show that officials had information raising serious concerns about the safety of the air around Ground Zero, even as New Yorkers were being assured it was safe to breathe and return to Lower Manhattan. The documents include air-quality reports, contamination data and internal communications, including records concerning asbestos and other hazards. (NYC Government)

For the responders, residents, workers, students and families who have spent years living with 9/11-related cancers and illnesses, this release is enormously significant.

They deserved the truth then. They deserve the truth now.

As we approach the 25th memorial of September 11th, this is another powerful reminder that the consequences of 9/11 did not end that day. There is still work to be done to ensure the entire 9/11 community has access to the health care, compensation, research and support they deserve.

The "Harding Memo" was of the first official documents to be released. The newly released records, including key “Documents of Interest,” can now be viewed through New York City’s public 9/11 records portal.

25 Years Later, the Health Toll of 9/11 Continues

The attacks killed 2,977 people on September 11, 2001. But the loss of life did not end there - to this day, 9/11 is still claiming victims.

Recent reporting citing September 11th Victim Compensation Fund data found that 9,677 responders and survivors had died from 9/11-related illnesses as of July 31, 2026, including 5,892 deaths from cancer.

And the number of people facing serious health conditions continues to grow.

Today, the World Trade Center Health Program recognizes a wide range of 9/11-related conditions, including cancers such as prostate, skin, breast, thyroid, lung, kidney, bladder, leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, as well as respiratory and aerodigestive conditions such as asthma, COPD, chronic cough syndrome, chronic rhinosinusitis and GERD. 

For responders, survivors and families who have spent decades dealing with cancer, respiratory disease and other serious health conditions, these records are not simply historical documents. They are part of the story of how people were exposed, what officials knew and why protecting the 9/11 community remains so important today.