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~~lA\1J?1f~~-uMaking Economic
Decisions
Could the World Trade Center Have Withstood
the 9/11 Attacks?
In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September II, 200I, most commen-
tators assumed that no structure, however well built, could have withstood the damage
inflicted by fully fueled passenger jets traveling at top speed.
But questions soon began to be raised. Investigators scrutinizing
the towers' collapse noted that they had withstood the initial impact
with amazing resiliency. What brought them down was the fires that
followed. Knowledgeable investigators noted that the rapid progress of
the Twin Towers' fires showed similarities with earlier high-rise blazes
that had resulted from more mundane causes, suggesting that better fire
prevention measures could have saved the ,buildingsfrom crumbling.
In spring 2002, a report drafted by the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency and the American Society of Civil Engineers suggested
that the light, fluffy spray-applied fireproofing used throughout the tow-
ers might have been particularly vulnerable to damage from an impact
or bomb blast. Sturdier material had been available, but it would have
added significant weight to the building.