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Microscopical Studies of World Trade Center Disaster Dust Particles
Abstract
The terrorist attack and collapse of two towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City on September 11, 2001 generated tremendous clouds of dust that settled over a wide area. Concern over the potential health effects of breathing this dust made it imperative that the WTC dust be characterized as completely as possible. As part of this characterization, a microscopical examination using several types of microscopes provided key data on the components of the dust. The WTC dust sample that is the primary focus of this report was collected by F.C. Ewing from an outdoor window ledge at 33 Maiden Lane, New York City, NY on October 7, 2001.
... The composition was found to be that of the steel debris and protective paint coating used on the structural steel girders by using EDS and FTIR respectively. Analyses such as these are important in determining that the dust cloud that covered Lower Manhattan was caused by the building collapse [20][21][22] and not by other means. The analysis of volcanic ash and dust and its impact on engine failures [23][24][25][26][27] was also critical in the decision to ground aeroplanes when Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland erupted in 2011 causing $2bn in economic losses to the airline industry and six days of travel disruption. ...
Forensic metallurgists are asked to address failures across a wide range of materials, length-scales, and applications. This requires in-depth knowledge of metallurgical principles, manufacturing, and engineering fields. The metallurgist will be asked to determine whether or not the appropriate engineering or quality standards have been followed – and this may be the Standards that were in place at the time of manufacture, not those currently in place – and whether the failure results from use or abuse. The paper reviews how these skills have been applied to a range of historical and contemporary cases involving failure and discusses some of the issues that are important for determining the root cause of a problem. Some difficulties in current approaches are also presented.
... A number of studies have characterized the materials and chemical composition of settled dust deposits and airborne dust, smoke, and other aerosols generated by the WTC collapse (Lowers et al., 2009;Lowers and Meeker, 2005;Pleil et al., 2006;Meeker et al., 2005, and other papers in Marley and Gaffney, 2005Yiin et al., 2004;Offenberg et al., 2004Offenberg et al., , 2003McGee et al., 2003;Lioy et al., 2002;Millette et al., 2002;USGS, 2002b;Chatfield and Kominsky, 2001;. These studies varied greatly in the numbers of samples studied, when and where the samples were collected, the types of samples collected, the processing applied to the samples prior to analysis (for example, size fractionation by sieving and/or aerodynamic separation), and analytical methods applied. ...
Many natural or human-caused disasters release potentially hazardous materials (HM) that may pose threats to the environment and health of exposed humans, wildlife, and livestock. This chapter summarizes the environmentally and toxicologically significant physical, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of materials produced by a wide variety of recent disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and extreme storms, spills of mining/mineral-processing wastes or coal extraction by-products, and the 2001 attacks on and collapse of the World Trade Center towers. In describing these characteristics, this chapter also illustrates the important roles that geochemists and other earth scientists can play in environmental disaster response and preparedness. In addition to characterizing in detail the physical, chemical, and microbial makeup of HM generated by the disasters, these roles also include (1) identifying and discriminating potential multiple sources of the materials; (2) monitoring, mapping, and modeling dispersal and evolution of the materials in the environment; (3) understanding how the materials are modified by environmental processes; (4) identifying key characteristics and processes that influence the materials' toxicity to exposed humans and ecosystems; (5) estimating shifts away from predisaster environmental baseline conditions; and (6) using geochemical insights learned from past disasters to help estimate, prepare for, and increase societal resilience to the environmental and related health impacts of future disasters.
... A number of studies have characterized the materials and chemical composition of settled dust deposits and airborne dust, smoke, and other aerosols generated by the WTC collapse (Lowers et al., 2009;Lowers and Meeker, 2005;Pleil et al., 2006;Meeker et al., 2005, and other papers in Marley and Gaffney, 2005Yiin et al., 2004;Offenberg et al., 2004Offenberg et al., , 2003McGee et al., 2003;Lioy et al., 2002;Millette et al., 2002;USGS, 2002b;Chatfield and Kominsky, 2001;. These studies varied greatly in the numbers of samples studied, when and where the samples were collected, the types of samples collected, the processing applied to the samples prior to analysis (for example, size fractionation by sieving and/or aerodynamic separation), and analytical methods applied. ...
Many natural or human-caused disasters release potentially hazardous materials that may pose threats to the environment and health of exposed humans, wildlife, and livestock. This chapter summarizes environmentally and toxicologically significant physical, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of materials produced by a wide variety of recent disasters such as volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and extreme storms, spills of mining / mineral processing wastes or coal extraction byproducts, and the 2001 attacks on and collapse of the World Trade Center towers. In describing these characteristics, this chapter also illustrates the important roles that geochemists and other earth scientists can play in environmental disaster response and preparedness. In addition to characterizing in detail the physical, chemical, and microbial makeup of HM generated by the disasters, these roles also include: identifying and discriminating potential multiple sources of the materials; monitoring, mapping, and modeling dispersal and evolution of the materials in the environment; understanding how the materials are modified by environmental processes; identifying key characteristics and processes that influence the materials’ toxicity to exposed humans and ecosystems; estimating shifts away from pre-disaster environmental baseline conditions, and; using geochemical insights learned from past disasters to help estimate, prepare for, and increase societal resilience to environmental and related health impacts of future disasters.
... A number of excellent studies have been carried out to characterize the materials and chemical composition of settled dust deposits and airborne dust, smoke, and other aerosols generated by the WTC collapse Lioy, 2002;Thurston et al., 2002;Millette et al., 2002;Chatfield and Kominsky, 2001;Clark et al., 2001;USGS, 2002;Plumlee et al., 2002;Marley and Gaffney, 2005). The following discussion is taken largely from results of USGS studies of settled dust deposits USGS, 2002;Plumlee et al., 2002;USGS papers in Marley and Gaffney, 2005;Plumlee and Ziegler, unpubished data). ...
"Town clenched in suffocating grip of asbestos"USA Today, article on
Libby,Montana, February, 2000"Researchers find volcanoes are bad for
your health… long after they finish erupting"University of
WarwickPress Release, 1999"Toxic soils plague city - arsenic, lead in 5
neighborhoods could imperil 17,000 residents"Denver Post, 2002"Ill winds
- dust storms ferry toxic agents between countries and even
continents"Science News, 2002A quick scan of newspapers, television,
science magazines, or the internet on any given day has a fairly high
likelihood of encountering a story (usually accompanied by a creative
headline such as those above) regarding human health concerns linked to
dusts, soils, or other earth materials. Many such concerns have been
recognized and studied for decades, but new concerns arise
regularly.Earth scientists have played significant roles in helping the
medical community understand some important links between earth
materials and human health, such as the role of asbestos mineralogy in
disease (Skinner et al., 1988; Ross, 1999; Holland and Smith, 2001), and
the role of dusts generated by the 1994 Northridge, California,
earthquake in an outbreak of Valley Fever ( Jibson et al., 1998;
Schneider et al., 1997).Earth science activities tied to health issues
are growing (Skinner and Berger, 2003), and are commonly classified
under the emerging discipline of medical geology (Finkelman et al.,
2001; Selinus and Frank, 2000; Selinus, in press).Medical geochemistry
(also referred to as environmental geochemistry and health: Smith and
Huyck (1999), Appleton et al. (1996)) can be considered as a diverse
subdiscipline of medical geology that deals with human and animal health
in the context of the Earth's geochemical cycle ( Figure 1). Many
medical geochemistry studies have focused on how chemical elements in
rocks, soils, and sediments are transmitted via water or vegetation into
the food chain, and how regional geochemical variations can result in
disease clusters either through dietary deficiency of essential elements
or dietary excess of toxic elements. (28K)Figure 1. Potential human
exposure routes within the earth's geochemical cycle can come from a
wide variety of both natural and anthropogenic sources. This chapter
focuses on a somewhat narrower area of medical geochemistry: the study
of mechanisms of uptake of earth materials by humans and animals and
their reactions to these materials. In order for earth materials to
affect health, they must first interact with the body across key
interfaces such as the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, skin,
and eyes. In some way, all of these interfaces require the earth
materials to interact chemically with water-based body fluids such as
lung fluids, gastrointestinal fluids, saliva, or blood plasma.The
primary goal of this chapter, co-authored by a geochemist and a
toxicologist, is to provide both geochemists and scientists from health
disciplines with an overview of the potential geochemical mechanisms by
which earth materials can influence human health. It is clear that
significant opportunities for advancement in this arena will require
continued and increased research collaborations between geochemists and
their counterparts in the health disciplines.
... Currently, the US EPA and US Geological Survey (USGS, Reston, VA) consider MMVF to be the best candidate for a WTC collapse signature. MMVF is one of the three major components of WTC dust with concrete dust and gypsum as the other two (Meeker et al., 2004;Clark et al., 2001;Lioy et al. 2002;Millette et al., 2002;Chatfield and Kominsky, 2001). Of the three types of MMVF-slag wool, rock wool, or soda-lime glass-the MMVF in WTC dust contains from 89% to 98% slag wool by weight . ...
The explosion and collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) produced an aerosol plume of dust and smoke that impacted several buildings in lower Manhattan. Because of the potential health risks associated with the particulates generated from the WTC collapse, a method for identifying WTC dust is needed to prioritize the cleanup of impacted buildings. For this evaluation, a discriminant analysis model using known WTC and background indoor dust samples was developed to determine if metal concentrations could be used to differentiate between WTC dust and ordinary indoor dust. The sensitivity of the discriminant analysis model was evaluated by mathematically diluting the known WTC dust samples with indoor dust. This method is able to differentiate known WTC dust samples from indoor dust with an accuracy of 94%. In addition, this method can differentiate WTC dust with an accuracy of 80% up to a dilution of 2 parts WTC dust to 1 part indoor dust. The accuracy of the method does not fall below 50% until the WTC dust content of the dust falls below 56%. This illustrates the potential utility of using discriminant analysis with metals concentration data to identify WTC dust in indoor dust from buildings impacted by WTC dust.
... Asbestos fibers continue to be ubiquitous in some locations as residue from vehicle brake lining wear, industrial furnace linings, or other asbestos product degradation or exposure. Nearly 7 percent of the dust generated in the aftermath of the World Trade Center twin towers collapse in New York city as a consequence of the September 11, 2001 attack was asbestos-related, especially chrysotile asbestos [65]. In addition, of the more than 5 million metric tons of commercial BC utilized in the U.S. annually, 70% is used in tire production as a strengthening agent where the BC composition is nearly 30%. ...
This paper examines the microstructures and nanostructures for natural (mined) chrysotile asbestos nanotubes (Mg3 Si2O5 (OH)4) in comparison with commercial multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), utilizing scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM). Black carbon (BC) and a variety of specific soot particulate (aggregate) microstructures and nanostructures are also examined comparatively by SEM and TEM. A range of MWCNTs collected in the environment (both indoor and outdoor) are also examined and shown to be similar to some commercial MWCNTs but to exhibit a diversity of microstructures and nanostructures, including aggregation with other multiconcentric fullerenic nanoparticles. MWCNTs formed in the environment nucleate from special hemispherical graphene "caps" and there is evidence for preferential or energetically favorable chiralities, tube growth, and closing. The multiconcentric graphene tubes ( approximately 5 to 50 nm diameter) differentiate themselves from multiconcentric fullerenic nanoparticles and especially turbostratic BC and carbonaceous soot nanospherules ( approximately 8 to 80 nm diameter) because the latter are composed of curved graphene fragments intermixed or intercalated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) isomers of varying molecular weights and mass concentrations; depending upon combustion conditions and sources. The functionalizing of these nanostructures and photoxidation and related photothermal phenomena, as these may influence the cytotoxicities of these nanoparticulate aggregates, will also be discussed in the context of nanostructures and nanostructure phenomena, and implications for respiratory health.
... Several other WTC studies have focused on health effects of respirable particles (Ͻ2.5 m). A study analyzing the chemical composition of the WTC fine dust (Ͻ2.5 m) has found that two major components are calcium sulfate (gypsum) and calcium carbonate (calcite), 13 which are known to cause irritation of the mucus membranes of the eyes and respiratory tract. 14 Another study testing effects of the fine dust (Ͻ2.5 m) on mice has found that those particles could cause respiratory tract hyperresponsiveness and pulmonary inflammation. ...
The collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11, 2001, generated large amounts of dust and smoke that settled in the surrounding indoor and outdoor environments in southern Manhattan. Sixteen dust samples were collected from undisturbed locations inside two uncleaned buildings that were adjacent to Ground Zero. These samples were analyzed for morphology, metals, and organic compounds, and the results were compared with the previously reported outdoor WTC dust/smoke results. We also analyzed seven additional dust samples provided by residents in the local neighborhoods. The morphologic analyses showed that the indoor WTC dust/smoke samples were similar to the outdoor WTC dust/smoke samples in composition and characteristics but with more than 50% mass in the <53-microm size fraction. This was in contrast to the outdoor samples that contained >50% of mass above >53 microm. Elemental analyses also showed the similarities, but at lower concentrations. Organic compounds present in the outdoor samples were also detected in the indoor samples. Conversely, the resident-provided convenience dust samples were different from either the WTC indoor or outdoor samples in composition and pH, indicating that they were not WTC-affected locations. In summary, the indoor dust/smoke was similar in concentration to the outdoor dust/smoke but had a greater percentage of mass <53 microm in diameter.
... Other techniques such as bulk chemical analysis or x-ray diffraction can provide some information about the elemental or mineralogical makeup of a dust sample, but only microscopy can provide full information about the fibrous nature of the dust components. Microscopic analyses for glass fibers and asbestos fibers are an important part of the investigation of the components of the dust produced by the WTC collapse ( Lioy et al., 2002b;Millette et al., 2002;Yiin et al., 2004) and in the proposed assessment of which residences will be part of the cleanup effort (USEPA, 2005). ...
Environmental forensic microscopy investigations are based on the methods and procedures developed in the fields of criminal forensics, industrial hygiene and environmental monitoring. Using a variety of microscopes and techniques, the environmental forensic scientist attempts to reconstruct the sources and the extent of exposure based on the physical evidence left behind after particles are exchanged between an individual and the environments he or she passes through. This article describes how environmental forensic microscopy uses procedures developed for environmental monitoring, criminal forensics and industrial hygiene investigations. It provides key references to the interdisciplinary approach used in microscopic investigations. Case studies dealing with lead, asbestos, glass fibers and other particulate contaminants are used to illustrate how environmental forensic microscopy can be very useful in the initial stages of a variety of environmental exposure characterization efforts to eliminate some agents of concern and to narrow the field of possible sources of exposure.
... Particles were binned by type (mineralogy and composition) based on extensive analysis of WTC dust by numerous studies using multiple analytical techniques (Table 1) (Clark et al., 2001;Chatfield and Kominsky, 2002;Lioy et al., 2002;Millette et al., 2002;McGee et al., 2003;Offenberg et al., 2003;Badger et al., 2004;Yiin et al., 2004;Meeker et al., 2005a, b). The MMVFs were further subdivided into three distinct chemical groups based on Si, Ca, and Fe content as determined by quantitative electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) (Meeker et al., 2005b). ...
The collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers on September 11, 2001, caused lower Manhattan and adjacent areas to be covered in millimeters to centimeters of dust. WTC dust penetrated into indoor spaces, and public health concerns remain regarding exposure to possible residual dust in the affected areas. The goal of the studies outlined in this review was to determine which, if any, components of the bulk WTC dust are sufficiently above typical background dust levels in New York City to develop an analytical method to screen for the component(s). Components of the <150-microm-size fraction of the dust are gypsum, phases compatible with crushed concrete, man-made vitreous fibers (MMVFs), silica, lead, chrysotile asbestos, and other materials. Slag wool was the most common WTC MMVF, whereas soda-lime glass and rock wool were minor to trace constituents. Most background samples also contained gypsum, phases compatible with concrete, and MMVF. However, the proportions of the various MMVF in background samples are typically unlike those characteristic of bulk WTC dust. Results indicate that slag wool can be used as a signature marker to identify areas that contain potential residual WTC dust contamination at concentrations that are less than average background levels for the material.
Environmental forensic microscopy is used to study materials and particulate in efforts to classify and identify particles and often to assess the extent of a contamination situation. This chapter describes many of the methods used for microscopical studies of environmental contamination situations or materials of concern in industrial hygiene and environmental health studies. These methods include those promulgated by government agencies, consensus standard organizations such as ASTM-International and International Standards Organization (ISO), and methods traditionally used by forensic microscopists. The environmental forensic microscope investigations (case studies) described in this chapter involved product identification, indoor air quality concerns, outdoor darkening agents including various types of soot, lead particles, asbestos, and glass fibers, ceramic whiskers, corrosion debris, and particles from the World Trade Center disaster of September 11, 2001.
This paper briefly highlights Dr. McCrone's contributions to the recently emerging field of forensic environmental microscopy. Few, if any, criminalists are not familiar with Dr. Walter C. McCrone's voluminous contributions to the field of forensic microscopy and the analyses of micro and ultra micro transfer (trace) evidence. Dr. McCrone was renowned for his life long efforts in promoting the application of the Polarized Light Microscope (PLM) to problem solving. It is therefore not surprising that Dr. McCrone would also apply his analytical and deductive skills employing the PLM to problems in environmental analysis. He is well known for his many publications dealing with the analysis of asbestos and asbestos like materials by PLM. His philosophy of presenting intense professional training courses stressing the practical applications of the PLM carried over to a series of courses offered to students requiring education in other areas of microscopical analysis. Through McCrone Research Institute, Dr. McCrone can be said to have been responsible for the training of a large majority of microscopists who literally analyzed tens of millions of samples. These analyses were performed utilizing methodologies developed predominately by him and adopted by regulatory agencies in the United States and abroad. The methods he fostered are a major part of the arsenal of microscopical techniques employed by forensic environmental microscopists in their efforts to identify a manufacturer of an insulation product for the purpose of litigation.
Associations have been found between day-to-day particulate air pollution and increased risk of various adverse health outcomes, including cardiopulmonary mortality. However, studies of health effects of long-term particulate air pollution have been less conclusive.
To assess the relationship between long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution and all-cause, lung cancer, and cardiopulmonary mortality.
Vital status and cause of death data were collected by the American Cancer Society as part of the Cancer Prevention II study, an ongoing prospective mortality study, which enrolled approximately 1.2 million adults in 1982. Participants completed a questionnaire detailing individual risk factor data (age, sex, race, weight, height, smoking history, education, marital status, diet, alcohol consumption, and occupational exposures). The risk factor data for approximately 500 000 adults were linked with air pollution data for metropolitan areas throughout the United States and combined with vital status and cause of death data through December 31, 1998.
All-cause, lung cancer, and cardiopulmonary mortality.
Fine particulate and sulfur oxide--related pollution were associated with all-cause, lung cancer, and cardiopulmonary mortality. Each 10-microg/m(3) elevation in fine particulate air pollution was associated with approximately a 4%, 6%, and 8% increased risk of all-cause, cardiopulmonary, and lung cancer mortality, respectively. Measures of coarse particle fraction and total suspended particles were not consistently associated with mortality.
Long-term exposure to combustion-related fine particulate air pollution is an important environmental risk factor for cardiopulmonary and lung cancer mortality.
The explosion and collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) was a catastrophic event that produced an aerosol plume impacting many workers, residents, and commuters during the first few days after 11 September 2001. Three bulk samples of the total settled dust and smoke were collected at weather-protected locations east of the WTC on 16 and 17 September 2001; these samples are representative of the generated material that settled immediately after the explosion and fire and the concurrent collapse of the two structures. We analyzed each sample, not differentiated by particle size, for inorganic and organic composition. In the inorganic analyses, we identified metals, radionuclides, ionic species, asbestos, and inorganic species. In the organic analyses, we identified polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, pesticides, phthalate esters, brominated diphenyl ethers, and other hydrocarbons. Each sample had a basic pH. Asbestos levels ranged from 0.8% to 3.0% of the mass, the PAHs were > 0.1% of the mass, and lead ranged from 101 to 625 microg/g. The content and distribution of material was indicative of a complex mixture of building debris and combustion products in the resulting plume. These three samples were composed primarily of construction materials, soot, paint (leaded and unleaded), and glass fibers (mineral wool and fiberglass). Levels of hydrocarbons indicated unburned or partially burned jet fuel, plastic, cellulose, and other materials that were ignited by the fire. In morphologic analyses we found that a majority of the mass was fibrous and composed of many types of fibers (e.g., mineral wool, fiberglass, asbestos, wood, paper, and cotton). The particles were separated into size classifications by gravimetric and aerodynamic methods. Material < 2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter was 0.88-1.98% of the total mass. The largest mass concentrations were > 53 microm in diameter. The results obtained from these samples can be used to understand the contact and types of exposures to this unprecedented complex mixture experienced by the surviving residents, commuters, and rescue workers directly affected by the plume from 11 to 12 September and the evaluations of any acute or long-term health effects from resuspendable dust and smoke to the residents, commuters, and local workers, as well as from the materials released after 11 September until the fires were extinguished. Further, these results support the need to have the interior of residences, buildings, and their respective HVAC systems professionally cleaned to reduce long-term residential risks before rehabitation.
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