Environment, Energy and Transportation Program

New York City World Trade Center Building Code Task Force Issues Recommendations

March 2003

The task force assigned to evaluate the safety of high-rise buildings in New York City after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center has recommended broad changes to the city's building code. Task force members included architects, engineers, city officials and emergency management personnel. The recommendations include a ban on the type of trusses used in the towers of the World Trade Center. Questions have been raised about how fireproofing adhered to the "open web bar" trusses. The task force has recommended prohibiting the trusses in future building construction greater than 75 feet tall until the National Institute of Standards and Technology sets a national standard. The report includes 21 recommendations, several of which would affect existing buildings. One recommendation is that all commercial buildings more than 100 feet tall install automatic sprinkler systems within 15 years. Another recommendation would require new inspections to ensure that fireproofing is not dislodged from the structural trusses during renovations. For future buildings, the task force recommended better structural protection for elevator lobbies and vestibules and incentives for builders to wide stairwells and create additional escape routes.

Patricia Lancaster, commissioner of the city Buildings Department stated that the current building code is one of the most stringent in the nation but, "The world has changed now, and terrorism is something that we have to take into account."

To protect against bioterrorism, the panel proposed requiring all air ducts in new buildings be 20 feet above ground level and away from street loading areas.

The New York City Buildings Department web site:

The report is available online at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/pdf/wtcbctf.pdf

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