Risk assessment for asbestos-related cancer from the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center

OBJECTIVE: We sought to estimate the lifetime risk of asbestos-related cancer for residents of Lower Manhattan attributable to asbestos released into the air by the 9/11 attack on New York City's World Trade Center (WTC). METHODS: Exposure was estimated from available data and reasoned projections based on these data. Cancer risk was assessed using an asbestos risk model that differentiates asbestos fiber-types and the US Environmental Protection Agency's model that does not differentiate fiber-types and combines mesothelioma and lung cancer risks. RESULTS: The upper limit for the expected number of asbestos-related cancers is less than one case over the lifetime of the population for the risk model that is specific for fiber-types and 12 asbestos-related cancers with the US Environmental Protection Agency's model. CONCLUSIONS: The cancer risk associated with asbestos exposures for residents of Lower Manhattan resulting from the collapse of the WTC is negligible.