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Lessons from History. How Should Countries Prepare to Deal With Industrial Disasters?
Series | All-Hazards Preparedness and Response
Authors: Elizabeth Diago-Navarro, Clara Marín-Carballo and Roberto G Lucchini* [ This document is one of a series of discussion notes addressing fundamental questions about global health. Its purpose is to transfer scientific knowledge into the public conversation and the decision-making process. These documents are based on the best information available and may be updated as new information comes to light. ]
5 March 2025 Photograph: Abandoned Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, the site of a chemical disaster in 1984 / Julian Nyč a (Wikimedia Commons)
One of the most deadly terrorist attacks in modern history took place on 11 September 2001, when two planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York, causing some 2 753 deaths. This event has taken its place in the annals of history and popular culture. The causes of the attack, the identities of those involved, and the terrible aftermath are all well known, as are the details and timeline of the tragedy. There is, however, one aspect of the 9/11 story that, despite its importance, has not entered the collective imagination in the same way as some others. And that is the exposure to harmful substances of people who were close to the towers when they collapsed.1 The emergency responders and all of the people who witnessed the tragedy were enveloped in a toxic cloud of particles, including asbestos, silica, metals, concrete and glass. The fires,
which were initially caused by the combustion of aircraft fuel and later persisted in the debris pile of World Trade Center Building 7, burned until the end of December 2001 and continued to flareup in 2002, releasing carcinogenic and neurotoxic combustion by-products and leading to prolonged exposure to toxic gases, smoke and vapours. An estimated 400 000 people—including responders, volunteers and residents of the southern end of Manhattan—were exposed to toxic contaminants, the risk of physical injury, and the physically and emotionally stressful conditions that persisted in the days, weeks and months following the attacks. Shortly after the attacks, people who had been exposed to the toxic cloud during or after the event began to report related health conditions. To this day, the World Trade Center
* Elizabeth Diago-Navarro is the Coordinator of ISGlobal’s Preparedness, Response, Recovery and Resilience Hub. Clara Marín-Carballo is a Policy Consultant at ISGlobal´s Policy and Development department. These two authors have contributed equally to this paper. Roberto Lucchini is Professor of Occupational and Environment Health Sciences at Florida International University and at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. 1 Toxins and Health Impacts: Health Effects of 9/11 - WTC Health Program. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/wtc/exhibition/ toxins-and-health-impacts.html.
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