New York Times
January 17, 2002
New Agency to Investigate the Collapse of Towers By JAMES GLANZ and ERIC LIPTON
A federal agency with vast experience in investigating building collapses
and other major catastrophes is moving to take over, and significantly
expand, the inquiry into the fall of the World Trade Center's twin towers on
Sept. 11.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, which has investigated
building failures worldwide as a result of earthquakes, structural flaws and
other factors, has recently begun discussions with other federal and city
agencies to formally take control of the inquiry.
The investigation of the collapse has for months been conducted by a group
of engineering experts and been overseen by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency. But the investigation has been called inadequate by a growing number
of experts, politicians and family members of those who died.
Yesterday, officials with FEMA, who have conceded that they do not have much
experience in conducting intensive investigations, said that they would
welcome turning over major portions of the inquiry to the National Institute
of Standards and Technology. "They've indicated to me that they have
authority in this area," said Robert Shea, acting administrator of FEMA's
federal insurance and mitigation administration. "We obviously would support
them."
While it was obvious on Sept. 11 that any high-rise struck by a fuel- laden
jetliner would be at risk of catastrophic failure, engineers and fire safety
experts say it is still crucial to determine which structures snapped,
buckled or otherwise failed and in what order - all information that could
help improve safety in skyscrapers nationwide.
Lingering questions about whether the twin towers had any hidden
vulnerabilities could also be answered.
The precise scale of the new effort has not yet been determined, but
officials involved in the discussions said the intent would be to create a
federal entity like the National Transportation Safety Board, which
investigates plane crashes. With the bombing in Oklahoma City and the attack
on the World Trade Center, the federal government may indefinitely need to
be spending more time examining issues like blast damage, the need to
evacuate entire office buildings instead of a few floors, and the combined
impact of structural damage and large fires, safety experts and government
officials said.
Andy Davis, communications director for Senator Ernest F.
Hollings, a South Carolina Democrat whose oversight responsibilities include
financing for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, said
officials at the institute had indicated in discussions on Capitol Hill that
the work could cost $10 million to $12 million a year.
A spokesman for the institute, Michael E. Newman, confirmed that his group
was "taking all steps to prepare to conduct an investigation into the
technical, causal factors that led to the World Trade Center collapse."
The move by the institute to enter the investigation comes as the group of
engineers involved in the initial, FEMA-backed inquiry, says that it almost
certainly will not be able to explain the structural failures inside the
building that led to the fiery collapse. Their more modest goal is to
describe data that has been collected and then to list theories of why the
buildings collapsed and make recommendations for future research.
"Considering the enormity of the information that needs to be digested now
and analyzed, they're not likely to be able to have consensus on the
sequence of collapse events," said John E. Durrant, a team spokesman at the
American Society of Civil Engineers, which is working with FEMA in the study.
As to the twin towers, the team is currently considering at least three
scenarios, or theories, of what may have taken place in the moments before
and during their collapse: that the initial impact was so great the towers
were already on the verge of collapse and the fires tipped them over the
edge; that lightweight floors sagged in the heat and tore away from vertical
columns on outside walls; and finally that heavy columns in the buildings'
cores gave way, leading the building to implode.
Engineering experts nationwide, as well as city officials, said the entry of
the National Institute of Standards and Technology into the investigation
was encouraging.
Kenneth R. Holden, commissioner of the city's Department of Design and
Construction, said the city is prepared to work with the institute to help
any inquiry.
"Obviously it makes sense," Mr. Holden said. "We certainly will cooperate to
the extent possible."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/17/nyregion/17TWIN.html?ex=1012256331&ei=1&en
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