NIST Launches WTC Probe in Hope of Further Answers
Staff -- Consulting-Specifying Engineer, 9/1/2002
In order to take a more in-depth and detailed analysis of the World Trade Center's collapse, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has launched its own two-year, $23-million investigation.
The study will build off the findings of the American Society of Civil Engineers and specifically focus on the relationship between the fire caused by the impact of the hijacked airliners and how it contributed to each building's structural collapse.
Investigators will also analyze ways to keep fireproofing and exit stairwells better protected from the effects of a large impact.
Federal officials anticipate that one of the end results will be stricter building codes.
"This [study] could lead to major changes in both U.S. building and fire codes and in engineering practice," says NIST Director Arden Bement.
