It was a horrifying sight. People were jumping out of the towers. Others were burning to death and praying that they would make it. The halls were full of smoke and windows were blowing out because of small explosions in the buildings. 9/11 was the worst terrorist attack ever that this country has ever experienced. The effects were horrible. Health risks rose, homelands security was established, and the economic effects were horrendous.

It was a normal fall sunny day with clear blue skies. At 8:50 am tower one of the World Trade center was hit by American Airlines Flight 11. The public was shocked. “Terrorists hijacked four commercial jet planes and attempted to fly them into several U.S. targets” (Kelly). Ambulances and firefighters rushed to the scene to help and get people out of the building. In tower two people kept on with their routines and work that they had to do. A few minutes later at 9:04 am tower two of the World Trade Center was hit by United Airlines Flight 175. Later that day at 10 am tower two collapsed. “Unfortunately, this horrible scene was duplicated at 10:30 am when tower one crashed to the ground” (Kelly). Many people tried to help in any way that they could. Unfortunately, even though people wanted to help they were told to stand back luckily they did. When the towers started to hit the ground ambulances, fire engines, police cars, and even military vehicles were crushed. As time went on the dust settled. And another round came through and the next tower felt. Witnesses and firemen said that as they were walking out of the lobby debris and bodies were coming down from the top of the building. The firemen didn’t know why they were jumping out until later they were informed that the temperatures in the damaged floors reached 3000 degrees Fahrenheit. By this time most people were panicking and didn’t know what to do.

After the towers went down so did everything in them and dust was formed from the crumbling materials the towers were made out of. Although people in the attacks did their best not to breathe in the dust in the air it was nearly impossible. “Intense dust exposure on 9/11 increased everyone’s risk for developing asthma” (Farley). Others that had the greatest possibility of developing a lung disease or asthma included firemen, EMS, Police Officers, and all of the other first responders. Even after 9/11 there were still reports of people developing both cancers in their lungs, and asthma. Days, month, and even years later, the majority of first responders were still not feeling well. After a few studies doctors found that most people that witnessed the attacks on the WTC were suffering from post traumatic stress. The symptoms were common in most of the people that were there. The majority were having hallucinations, and others dreaming and not being able to rest. Some reported that in their hallucinations they saw people that had passed away in the attacks. “Almost one in five 19% adults enrolled in the Health Departments WTC Health Registry reported post traumatic stress symptoms 5 to 6 years after 9/11, roughly 4 times the rate typically found in the general population” (Farley). There have been very few studies to address the effect of the world trade center exposure on children and adolescents with post traumatic stress. The majority of children and adolescents developed asthma and other lung diseases like cancer. After 9/11 the next concern of the American public was their security.

After the attacks George W. Bush addressed the nation on what had happened. He spoke about the security of our homeland and apologized to the family’s that had lost their loved ones. Homeland security was what everyone wanted. No one wanted to relive this neither did the president so he established homeland security. “On October 8, 2001, the President ordered the creation on the white house staff of an office for homeland security” (Miller). In order to prevent another attack the goals of Homeland Security included improving anti terrorism intelligence, make U.S. borders less porous, and enhance transportation security. “The essence of Homeland Security can be captured in three words: prevent, protect, and respond” (Miller). Preventing terrorist attacks depended on the amount of intelligence that Homeland security actually has so what they did was get informants and try and find out what terrorist plots are aimed toward our country. After the intelligence is collected it is processed, analyzed, and confirmed and only then will Homeland Security act. Illegal entry of people into the United States has also worried Homeland Security. The reason is that anybody entering the country illegally is considered a potential terrorist. Terrorism such as drug trafficking has been decreasing after Homeland Security has been checking vehicles with both K-9, and x-rays. And to decrease the amount of people entering the country illegally a fence was built in even some of the most remote areas for maximum results. Airports security has also been on the rise since 9/11. Carryon bags and luggage in the cargo area of the plane are also screened through x-ray machines. Even people are thoroughly screened with wands, metal detectors, or if necessary pat downs are done by airport security to ensure the maximum security of the nation. The question for how much the security of nation was going to cost was still not answered.

The economic effects that 9/11 caused were appalling. When the United States went to war with Iraq to try and keep the U.S. safe 1.2 trillion dollars were spent this included salaries, tanks, helicopters, fuel , and the rebuilding of Iraq which came out to $300 million a day. “The human mind isn’t very well equipped to make sense of a figure like $1.2 trillion” (Leonhardt). Homeland security itself costed $690 billion which covers salaries, equipment, and head quarters all around the country. In New York after the attack the estimate of property loss came out to $21.8 billion. “Paul Krugman cites a property loss estimate by the comptroller of the city of New York of $21.8 billion, which he said is about0.2% of the GDP for a year” (Zalman). After the attacks the stock market didn’t open back up until September 17. The damage to the market was done because the marketing systems and other communications for the stock market were destroyed in the World Trade Center attacks. When the market reopened because of the uncertainty of the country’s security the recovery was very slow. From 2001 to 2003 there was also an increase of $100 billion per year on the homeland security budget in between those two years. Higher transportation costs due to security also affected the global supply chains due to extra layers of security at borders and airports. This meant less trade and the GDP going down.

All in all, it was a catastrophic day that will affect the country for many years to come. The effects will include long term health effects, Homeland Security being established, and appalling economic troubles for the whole country. From this event the country can learn to be safer and be thankful for the security it now has and try and prevent another group of terrorist from attacking the country again, if not this can reoccur at anytime. The way the American public can support the viewpoints in this paper is by speaking up if something is heard or seen by anybody that can hurt the country and cause something similar or worse than 9/11. If the people contribute and do their part lives can be saved and terrorist attacks can be prevented.











Works Cited
Farley, Thomas. "What We Know About the Health Effects of 9/11." New York City. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. <http://nye.gov>.
Kelly, Martin. "Terrorist Attack: World Trade Center on September 11." The American History Company. 9 Sept. 2001. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. <http://americanhistory.com>.
Leonhardt, David. "What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. New York Times, 17 Jan. 2007. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com>.
Miller, Steven E. "After the 9/11 Disaster: Washington's Struggle to Improve Homeland Security." Belfer Center. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. <http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu>.
Zalman, Amy. "Economic Impact of Terrorism and the September 11 Attacks." About. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. <http://terrorism.about.com>.