September 11, 2003: Study Finds WTC Fire Gases Gave Off Harmful Particles

A team of scientists from the University of California at Davis, known as the DELTA group, complete a study on the composition of the toxic gases released during fires burning at the World Trade Centers following the September 11 attacks. DELTA scientists release their report at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in New York. The study concludes that samples taken from the World Trade Center site contained four types of particles that the EPA considers harmful to human health: ultra-fine particulate matter composed of heavy metals known to cause lung damage, sulfuric acid harmful to pulmonary cells, ultra-fine glass particles that can travel through the lungs to the bloodstream and heart, and high-temperature carcinogenic organic matter. [Reuters, 9/11/2003]