tp47.xml
Title
tp47.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-02-24
TomPaine Story: Story
9/11 and the Bottom Line
Numerous ideas have emerged for the cause of 9/11 and the loss of so many lives: failed mid-east policies, the US was not prepared, no warning from the intelligence community, etc. One aspect that has not been fully addressed and that is the role of corporate greedÖthe ëbottom line.
Politicos of the l960s pandering to the special interests acquiesced to the real estate and construction industries and changed the building codes, which relaxed construction standards. In l967 the NY Building Code was changed from a specification code to a performance code. As a result of this change the steel framing was no longer required to be encased in concrete, but would be protected by spray-on-fireproofing, which is not reliable as it sometimes falls off during a fire. Fire stairs would no longer be protected by terracotta and concrete, but would be encased in sheetrock. These two important changes among others compromise the integrity of the building and the safety of the occupants during severe fire conditions. The reason for these changes is cutting costsÖ the ëbottom line.
Examining the images of 9/11 we can observe that the impact of the aircraft barely shook either tower and the shock had little to do with the collapse. The direct cause of the collapse was the ensuing fire that softened the inadequately protected steel and doomed the towers. Had the WTC been constructed under the more stringent specification code and the steel protected by concrete the building might have withstood the fire. At least the collapse would have been delayed extending evacuation time saving many hundreds of lives.
We were not prepared for the attack of 9/11, but we could have better protected our citizens, by not watering down our building codes and pandering to those whose only thought isÖthe ëbottom line.
Numerous ideas have emerged for the cause of 9/11 and the loss of so many lives: failed mid-east policies, the US was not prepared, no warning from the intelligence community, etc. One aspect that has not been fully addressed and that is the role of corporate greedÖthe ëbottom line.
Politicos of the l960s pandering to the special interests acquiesced to the real estate and construction industries and changed the building codes, which relaxed construction standards. In l967 the NY Building Code was changed from a specification code to a performance code. As a result of this change the steel framing was no longer required to be encased in concrete, but would be protected by spray-on-fireproofing, which is not reliable as it sometimes falls off during a fire. Fire stairs would no longer be protected by terracotta and concrete, but would be encased in sheetrock. These two important changes among others compromise the integrity of the building and the safety of the occupants during severe fire conditions. The reason for these changes is cutting costsÖ the ëbottom line.
Examining the images of 9/11 we can observe that the impact of the aircraft barely shook either tower and the shock had little to do with the collapse. The direct cause of the collapse was the ensuing fire that softened the inadequately protected steel and doomed the towers. Had the WTC been constructed under the more stringent specification code and the steel protected by concrete the building might have withstood the fire. At least the collapse would have been delayed extending evacuation time saving many hundreds of lives.
We were not prepared for the attack of 9/11, but we could have better protected our citizens, by not watering down our building codes and pandering to those whose only thought isÖthe ëbottom line.
Collection
Citation
“tp47.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed October 7, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/686.