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Steven Milloy
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Latest posts by Steven Milloy (see all)

Ann Coulter

Investigate This!

The Republicans are back in charge in the House...

Liberals Give ‘Til It Hurts (You)

Liberals never tire of discussing their own generosity, particularly...

Scrooge Was A Liberal

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Like a Condom, the First Amendment Can’t Always Protect You

First of all, I feel so much more confident...

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Call Our Troops Homophobes

The Pentagon’s poll on “don’t ask, don’t tell” is...

Dennis Prager

America, Not Keith Ellison, Decides What Book A Congressman Takes His Oath On

Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the...

Why I Smoke (Cigars)

There are few personal confessions more likely to alienate...

The Smugness Of The War’s Opponents

In this week’s New York Times Book Review, a...

Is A Gay Who Opposes Same-Sex Marriage A Hypocrite?

Why did a gay prostitute tell the media about...

Note To Angry Republicans: Stay Angry, But Vote Republican

One repeatedly hears that some conservatives and Republicans will...

Mike Adams

Kids Write Obama on Abortion; Obama Misplaces Them

I’m getting sick and tired of the Obama administration...

Stand For Life

A former student recently emailed that she was disappointed...

Fellowship in the Woodlands

Most of America's problems are cultural. Even our economic...

A Queer Need for Rejection

Whenever I write about the issue of First Amendment...

Left State University

William Irvine is a professor of philosophy at Wright...

Salim Mansur

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Since 9/11, western powers have behaved more or less...

The better man lost the U.S. election

There will be scores of books written and words...

The puzzle in U.S. presidential elections

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Free speech distinguishes the West from the rest

In Crowds and Power, the late Elias Canetti, a...

William D. Gairdner

Canada’s Thought Police ~ Shame On Us!

Below is a story that appeared in the New...

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At the recent McGill Conference, I was asked to...

A Fun Debate

This past weekend I participated in the annual Civitas...

Restoring A Pro-Family State

We see hints of it every day now. I...

From History to Harper and the “nation” situation

The commentary below is one citizen’s best effort to...

Barbara Kay

Why Quebec is banning the burka

Whether they admit it or not, virtually all Westerners...

I distrust Obama—but that doesn’t make me paranoid

Like many Canadians, I find American politics have a...

The cult of multisexualism: It’s not all good

Sex education in the schools isn’t new. As John...

Every week is Sex Week

Yale University is arguably the most prestigious institution of...

Male Studies: A proposed curriculum

The 93rd anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge,...

John Stossel

Are Americans Cheap?

The New York Times and Washington Post editorialize about...

Working Mothers Need The Free Market, Too

Last week, my “20/20” co-anchor, Elizabeth Vargas, returned from...

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Complaints about racism dominate the media discussion of the...

Property Theft In America

Do you live in a blighted home in a...

Birdwatching, Government Style

Here’s a job that’s really for the birds: staring...

Paul Jackson

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I have likely never seen a more outrageous, mean-spirited...

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CBC’s attempt to mould us led to its decline

The CBC disclosed last week it wants to get...

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Shades of Tommy Douglas!

Alberta has basked in prosperity until Honest Ed came...

Story behind nation’s religious collapse

Church attendance in the U.S. is now double the...

All laws rely on some moral authority

Separation of church and state a bad idea I said...

David Warren

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Once upon a time, and in some periodical publication...

Taking on the Reformation

One of the comforts, for a pundit out of...

The miserly Canadian

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Rediscovering the meaning of Christmas

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A vocal truth

In addition to the convenient facts—news that fits effortlessly...

Michael Coren

Police politicization: Law breakers ignored while law-abiding protesters treated like criminals

Within the propaganda and tawdry political theatre that is...

Ideological narcissism: Chief’s hunger strike tough to swallow

While I have some sympathy for Irish republicanism, I...

Fashion over debate: Sonny days ahead if Justin Trudeau gets Liberal leadership nod

The world didn’t end recently, and it’s unlikely to...

Insulting fanatics: They’re the people who make up the legalization campaign

Last week on my television show, we interviewed Jodie...

Shrill backlash to men’s rights advocate

For more than two years I wrote a men’s...

Rory Leishman

SPECIAL: A Letter From Rory Leishman: a critic apologizes to him

Editor’s note:  This is the latest in an ongoing...

Media neglect sources of homegrown Islamist extremism

Following the arrest of three more Canadian citizens on...

Shameful neglect of the mentally ill

We Canadians like to think of ourselves as an...

A case study in poverty and corruption

Over the past 30 years, Angola has developed into...

Canada’s real poverty problem

The Conference Board of Canada ranks Canada’s record on...

Theo Caldwell

Canada’s FATCA Capitulation

As of this past week, the Canada Revenue Agency...

Canada’s Complicity in the US Surveillance State

In Canadian political debate, accusing one’s opponent of advocating...

Of course Canada is more business-friendly than the United States

A recent report from Bloomberg News ranks Canada as...

Toronto Mayor is Not a Victim

I voted for Rob Ford. Normally, I embrace the...

Good luck, America (you’ll need it)

And here I believed that Obamacare, chronic 8 percent...

P T B C

Steven Milloy
Find Steve
Latest posts by Steven Milloy (see all)

Ann Coulter

Investigate This!

The Republicans are back in charge in the House...

Liberals Give ‘Til It Hurts (You)

Liberals never tire of discussing their own generosity, particularly...

Scrooge Was A Liberal

It’s the Christmas season, so godless liberals are citing...

Like a Condom, the First Amendment Can’t Always Protect You

First of all, I feel so much more confident...

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Call Our Troops Homophobes

The Pentagon’s poll on “don’t ask, don’t tell” is...

Dennis Prager

America, Not Keith Ellison, Decides What Book A Congressman Takes His Oath On

Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the...

Why I Smoke (Cigars)

There are few personal confessions more likely to alienate...

The Smugness Of The War’s Opponents

In this week’s New York Times Book Review, a...

Is A Gay Who Opposes Same-Sex Marriage A Hypocrite?

Why did a gay prostitute tell the media about...

Note To Angry Republicans: Stay Angry, But Vote Republican

One repeatedly hears that some conservatives and Republicans will...

Mike Adams

Kids Write Obama on Abortion; Obama Misplaces Them

I’m getting sick and tired of the Obama administration...

Stand For Life

A former student recently emailed that she was disappointed...

Fellowship in the Woodlands

Most of America's problems are cultural. Even our economic...

A Queer Need for Rejection

Whenever I write about the issue of First Amendment...

Left State University

William Irvine is a professor of philosophy at Wright...

Salim Mansur

Israel: Decades-old conflict not about to cease

Since 9/11, western powers have behaved more or less...

The better man lost the U.S. election

There will be scores of books written and words...

The puzzle in U.S. presidential elections

The role of the electoral college in American politics...

Bad egg about to roll out of White House

In less than two weeks, Americans will either elect...

Free speech distinguishes the West from the rest

In Crowds and Power, the late Elias Canetti, a...

William D. Gairdner

Canada’s Thought Police ~ Shame On Us!

Below is a story that appeared in the New...

Religion, Sex, and the City

At the recent McGill Conference, I was asked to...

A Fun Debate

This past weekend I participated in the annual Civitas...

Restoring A Pro-Family State

We see hints of it every day now. I...

From History to Harper and the “nation” situation

The commentary below is one citizen’s best effort to...

Barbara Kay

Why Quebec is banning the burka

Whether they admit it or not, virtually all Westerners...

I distrust Obama—but that doesn’t make me paranoid

Like many Canadians, I find American politics have a...

The cult of multisexualism: It’s not all good

Sex education in the schools isn’t new. As John...

Every week is Sex Week

Yale University is arguably the most prestigious institution of...

Male Studies: A proposed curriculum

The 93rd anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge,...

John Stossel

Are Americans Cheap?

The New York Times and Washington Post editorialize about...

Working Mothers Need The Free Market, Too

Last week, my “20/20” co-anchor, Elizabeth Vargas, returned from...

White Guilt Doesn’t Help Blacks

Complaints about racism dominate the media discussion of the...

Property Theft In America

Do you live in a blighted home in a...

Birdwatching, Government Style

Here’s a job that’s really for the birds: staring...

Paul Jackson

Suzuki playing gutter politics

I have likely never seen a more outrageous, mean-spirited...

Grit record terror-ible

The hypocrisy of our nation’s federal Liberals obviously knows...

Britain’s Blair takes tumble

Troubles open way for Tories LONDON—Prime Minister Tony Blair and...

Being ‘likable’ isn’t enough

This is what should frighten all of us about...

Disastrous prospect

The nation will spin into chaos if Dion becomes...

Ted Byfield

CBC’s attempt to mould us led to its decline

The CBC disclosed last week it wants to get...

Counter ‘revolution’ brewing in Quebec

English-speaking Canada was given further evidence last week that...

Shades of Tommy Douglas!

Alberta has basked in prosperity until Honest Ed came...

Story behind nation’s religious collapse

Church attendance in the U.S. is now double the...

All laws rely on some moral authority

Separation of church and state a bad idea I said...

David Warren

Robin Hoodism is on the rise

Once upon a time, and in some periodical publication...

Taking on the Reformation

One of the comforts, for a pundit out of...

The miserly Canadian

Canadians, as everyone should know, are tightwads. This is...

Rediscovering the meaning of Christmas

Christians, or at least the Catholic ones, are supposed...

A vocal truth

In addition to the convenient facts—news that fits effortlessly...

Michael Coren

Police politicization: Law breakers ignored while law-abiding protesters treated like criminals

Within the propaganda and tawdry political theatre that is...

Ideological narcissism: Chief’s hunger strike tough to swallow

While I have some sympathy for Irish republicanism, I...

Fashion over debate: Sonny days ahead if Justin Trudeau gets Liberal leadership nod

The world didn’t end recently, and it’s unlikely to...

Insulting fanatics: They’re the people who make up the legalization campaign

Last week on my television show, we interviewed Jodie...

Shrill backlash to men’s rights advocate

For more than two years I wrote a men’s...

Rory Leishman

SPECIAL: A Letter From Rory Leishman: a critic apologizes to him

Editor’s note:  This is the latest in an ongoing...

Media neglect sources of homegrown Islamist extremism

Following the arrest of three more Canadian citizens on...

Shameful neglect of the mentally ill

We Canadians like to think of ourselves as an...

A case study in poverty and corruption

Over the past 30 years, Angola has developed into...

Canada’s real poverty problem

The Conference Board of Canada ranks Canada’s record on...

Theo Caldwell

Canada’s FATCA Capitulation

As of this past week, the Canada Revenue Agency...

Canada’s Complicity in the US Surveillance State

In Canadian political debate, accusing one’s opponent of advocating...

Of course Canada is more business-friendly than the United States

A recent report from Bloomberg News ranks Canada as...

Toronto Mayor is Not a Victim

I voted for Rob Ford. Normally, I embrace the...

Good luck, America (you’ll need it)

And here I believed that Obamacare, chronic 8 percent...

P T B C

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Find Steve
Latest posts by Steven Milloy (see all)

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Saturday, January 11, 2025
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World Trade Center Collapse

Asbestos Fireproofing Might Have Prevented World Trade Center Collapse

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, I suggested in this column on Sept. 14, 2001 that many lives could have been saved if asbestos fireproofing been used in the World Trade Center.

Though controversial at the time, my view has gained in validity since then, according to “Eco-Freaks” (Nelson Current, 2006), a new book by John Berlau.

Berlau, a fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (a think-tank with which I am affiliated), details in one chapter of “Eco-Freaks” the series of events leading up to the decision to stop using asbestos fireproofing in the WTC and the post-Sept. 11 testing of the WTC-type fireproofing by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Well after construction began on the WTC towers, the campaign of Mount Sinai Hospital’s Irving Selikoff to scare the public about asbestos reached World Trade Center construction manager Rino Monti, who became worried in May 1970 that office workers might be exposed to asbestos from air passing over exposed asbestos fireproofing that had been sprayed on to the buildings’ structural steel.

Selikoff and Monti pushed for asbestos substitutes, vouching for their safety and effectiveness – even though the substitutes had barely been tested against fire, according to WTC documents from the 1970s.

Although Monti ordered basic testing of the substitute fireproofing materials by Underwriters Laboratory, he apparently didn’t wait for the testing to be complete before they were used in the WTC towers – that’s according to a report on the WTC collapse by the Commerce Department’s NIST.

As a result, asbestos fireproofing was only used up to the thirty-eighth floor of the first WTC tower and not at all in the second. Continuing asbestos hysteria eventually resulted in much of the asbestos eventually being ripped out of the first tower.

Berlau recounts how the effectiveness of asbestos fireproofing was proven during an intense Feb. 13, 1975 fire that burned for more than three hours in the elevator and utility shafts from the ninth to nineteenth floors of the first WTC tower – an area where asbestos fireproofing was still intact at the time. Despite the fire’s intensity – it burned nearly everything, including telephone panels and wiring, and got hot enough to blow out windows – the asbestos fireproofing contained the fire so that it did minimal damage to the rest of the building.

A subsequent fire analysis report from an engineering firm noted that the fire, “while reported in the press to have been very hot, did not damage a single primary, fireproofed element.”

Berlau’s report of the post-Sept. 11 fireproofing testing by NIST underscores the chilling possibility that the Sept. 11 WTC building collapses may have been delayed if not preventable had asbestos fireproofing been used.

Despite the huge fireballs caused by the two planes crashing into the WTC towers each with 10,000 gallons of jet fuel, the fireballs didn’t explode or create a shock wave that would have resulted in structural damage, according to a follow-up report by the Federal Emergency Management Administration. NIST’s report says that the steel didn’t melt as the temperature in the WTC towers never rose above 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (steel melts at 2,750 degrees). Steel will, however, start to bend and buckle at temperatures as low as 600 degrees if the fireproofing is inadequate.

The NIST report concludes that, “The WTC towers would likely have not collapsed under the combined effects of the aircraft impact damage and the extensive, multi-floor fires that were encountered on September 11, 2001, if the thermal insulation had not been widely dislodged.”

So how do we know that asbestos fireproofing likely would have performed better than the non-asbestos fireproofing?

Post-Sept. 11 testing by NIST indicates that the original testing of the non-asbestos fireproofing was wildly inaccurate. In simulations by NIST, the non-asbestos fireproofing was far inferior to asbestos in terms of melting points and ability to keep fire from spreading.

“Some of the non-asbestos fireproofing probably just burned off,” writes Berlau.

When the non-asbestos fireproofing was attached to a steel pushrod to simulate the steel columns at the WTC and exposed to fire, NIST found that as the temperatures increased, all the non-asbestos fireproofing shrank and lost contact with the pushrod before reaching maximum test temperature. Another set of tests indicated that the thermal conductivity of non-asbestos fireproofing was much higher than asbestos “spreading heat to the vulnerable steel,” Berlau reports.

NIST was not able to test the original asbestos fireproofing because it is no longer available, “but we know – from more than a century of fire tests – that asbestos almost certainly would have performed better,” writes Berlau. Part of that knowledge, of course, comes from the 1975 WTC fire which appears largely to have been contained by asbestos.

The irony is that there is no evidence that anything was gained in terms of health benefits by not using asbestos fireproofing. The original concerns that indoor air would be contaminated by passing over asbestos fireproofing were unfounded. City University of New York mineralogy professor Dr. Arthur Langer told Berlau that the sort of asbestos spray originally used on the WTC was tested at airports in the 1990s.

“This stuff was so damn good that this stuff did not release fibers – even with the vibrations from the airplanes and so forth,” Langer said.

The subtitle of “Eco-Freaks” is “Environmentalism is hazardous to your health” – a point Berlau backs up with chapters on the tragic DDT ban, the collapse of the levees in New Orleans and others. It’s a point that we should all take to heart as the modern environmental movement continues to use fear to advance its dubious and potentially deadly agenda.

 

Steven Milloy
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