Urban Aerosols and Their Impacts Lessons Learned from the World Trade Center Tragedy

Urban aerosols have been identified as important species of concern due totheir potential health and environmental impacts. This symposium series bookwill describe the basic chemistry and physics determining the impacts of aerosolspecies and will highlight the research results from the measurements that weretaken following the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) on 9/11/01. The WTCtragedy led to the release of millions of pounds of debris aside from thestructural steel, part of which was widely dissipated as aerosols andparticulates in the debris cloud over lower Manhattan. Additionally, continuingfires under the debris led to the release of fine combustion related aerosolsfor a considerable time period in this urban environment. Held during the weekof the second anniversary of the WTC tragedy in NYC, the symposium book willdescribe various aspects of the event, aerosol and gas exposures, and therelated impacts of these aerosols. The book contributions will highlight effortswork from atmospheric chemists, meteorologists, health workers, and biologistsfor a timely compilation of what is known and not known about the compositionand transport of tropospheric aerosols in urban environs, particularly thosefrom the WTC collapse. Particular interest is in the acute and chronicenvironmental effects of these aerosols as they impact human health. Chaptersincluded in the book will also address aerosol lifetimes, aerosol transport andremoval processes, acute and chronic health effects to fine aerosol andparticulate exposures, and the environmental impacts of aerosols.