The department also provided funds to help those disabled Americans who lost their jobs, rehabilitation or other support structures sue to this tragedy. The department also provided assistance to the state schools for counseling and mental therapy of affected children. The department established 'Loan Forgiveness Scheme', under which individuals living or working in New York were provided temporary relief from student loan payments.

Department of Justice:

Legislation was introduced for expeditious payments of compensation to the families of those who lost their relatives as a result of 9/11 terrorist attacks. The program launched in this regard was 'Victims Compensation Benefit Program'.

Legislation was introduced for speedy payment of compensation to the families of the police officers, firefighters and rescuer, who sacrificed their lives. The payment was made through Public Safety Officers' Benefits program.

Health and Human Services (HHS):

More than 500 HHS personnel were deployed in New York City to further augment the number and services of medical personnel assisting victims and recovery workers.

HHS made available services of more than 100 doctors, nurses and other para-medical staff round the clock, offering continuous services of care and recovery to the workers toiling in the aftermath of the attack in New York City.

HHS was along with New York City Health Department, and provided assistance for patient care and follow-up needs.

Small Business Administration (SBA):

Disaster Field Officers in New York and Virginia launched Disaster Loan Program; the program was launched for providing assistance to the victims. The program was launched in collaboration with FEMA. SBA was authorized to offer low-interest disaster loans. SBA launched different workshops to approach maximum numbers of victims.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

Environmental Protection Agency was formed to monitor the disaster sites to ascertain that rescue workers deployed on site were not facing any imminent environmental risks.

EPA was involved in cleaning and washing down of all workers, equipment, and resources employed during the rescue stage. EPA was vacuumed and cleaned sidewalks, streets, and buildings in the World Trade Center area. The agency was conducted radiological and dust monitoring.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS):

The IRS extended deadlines for all taxpayers affected by the tragedy. IRA gave tax-exempt status to the charities, so that the donated amount can be used completely towards the assistance of victims.

IMMINENT THREATS

Economic Woes

9/11 had major constrains on the economic development of U.S. It restricted and limited the global business activities, which are heavily U.S. economic dependent. The bearish trend dominated the American stock exchanges for large period. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the American Stock Exchange and NASDAQ did not open on September 11 and remained closed until September 17. Due to the major damage to the communication facilities of the business center i.e. World Trade Center the listed stock companies, customers and markets were unable to communicate (Business Report CNN Edition).

The economic activity of Lower Manhattan, which is considered to be the third largest business district of U.S., was damaged considerably because of terrorist attacks. Thirty percent (28.7 million sq. ft) of Lower Manhattan office space was either damaged or destroyed. The 41-story Deutsche Bank Building, neighboring the World Trade Center, was damaged extensively; the building was considered to be unfit for habitation and was subjected to demolition.

North American airspace was sealed for several days after the attack. The air travel reduced significantly after it's reopening, as the threat of terrorist activities still prevailed and people were much under psychological impact. The attacks led to nearly a 20% cutback in air travel capacity, and severely aggravated financial problems in the struggling U.S. Airline Industry.

Major downtown business district was virtually deserted for many days to come. This affected the purchasing and supplying power of the business industry.

Health Hazards

The giant towers of World Trade Center were constructed of many such particles that are highly hazardous for human body if inhaled in gaseous form. The collision of air planes with the buildings of WTC developed extremely high temperature that was enough to readily melt the building materials; major reason for the collapse of the towers.

According to the journal of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Sept 2006 edition, Dr. Dennis Charney reported "the presence of following materials from the debris in given proportion, 50% non-fibrous material and construction debris, 40% glass and other fibers, 9.2% cellulose and 0.8% asbestos, lead, and mercury, as well as unprecedented levels of dioxins from the fires which burned for three months,"(Dr. Dennis Charney, NIEHE Sept 2006 Edition). The detailed study of major hazardous substances is,

Asbestos

Asbestos is a known human carcinogen. It causes lung cancer and mesothelioma, a lung condition. Individuals who are exposed to such an environment for longer period of time are under extreme risk. The collapse of the Twin Towers caused the asbestos fibers that had been safely tucked into the walls of the buildings to disperse in the resulting dust cloud. According to Cervantes-Gross, "Asbestos contamination was one of the very first environmental health concerns that we had."
Particulate matter

The cement structures got shattered due to the heavy explosion and collapse of World Trade Center because of which plumes of dust and smoke covered the air. The shattered particles are of various size and compositions. Those particles adversely affect the health conditions, and aggravate illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, and some cardiovascular conditions.

Lead

Lead has been legally banned and its usage is highly discouraged, the human body and environment are highly sensitive to the affects of lead. These are several reported sources from or through which lead had released. It includes the soldered joints of the computer chips; according to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, each computer monitor contains four pounds of lead, at the time of collapse tens of thousands of computers were in the different offices of World Trade Center. The estimated amount of Lead is therefore very significant. In addition, lead paint was also used for protecting the steel beams from rusting. According to Paul Lioy, associate director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, "The reported level (of lead) from debris is not high, but is moderately high and cannot be ignored." The measurements of lead in dust ranged from 38 to 635 micrograms per gram.

Lead has plenty of negative effects on human body; it's a great source of damage. The persistence of lead in human body for a very long duration stores it in bones, from which it can be mobilized and transferred to fetuses during pregnancy and infants during breast-feeding. Lead also damages the nervous system and kidney system adversely.

PCBs

Many types of electrical equipment are containing PCBs. The Trade Center was containing many electronic and electrical equipments. The PCBs are used as lubricants and coolants in capacitors, transformers, and other equipment because they are good insulators. The exposure of human body to the environment of PCBs develops toxicity in human brains. PCBs also influence the hormonal system in fetuses. Another major concern about PCBs is that they are lipophilic, and thus tend to accumulate in the food chain and persist in the environment and the body.

PCBs were detected in some of the damaged areas. The release of PCBs can be termed as episodic, though it was intermittent, but the threat itself is constant.

Heap of Waste

The collapse of the Trade towers produced 1.2 million tons of tangled waste of innumerable materials. Debris was mainly composed of construction material such as steel beams, concrete and accessories placed inside the building. The debris constituents of above listed contaminants in varied proportion. The land of WTC was though considered to be hazardous waste site, but it also remained a source of recyclable materials.

MODIFICATION of BUILDING CODES

The findings of fire safety investigation conducted by the United States Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) concluded and proposed following suggestions,

Improvements in design, construction, maintenance and usage of the buildings.

Improved tools and guidance for industry and safety officials

Adherence to building and fire codes, standards, and practices

Revised and improved public safety

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT of 9/11 and BIOTERRORISM

The attacks of September 11 and the anthrax cases in its aftermath provoked re-evaluation of public health infrastructure in U.S.. The imminent threat of bio-terrorism just after 9/11 turned public health a central element in national security. The government then increased its funding towards public health, which remains an area of focus ever since then. The political threat of bio-terrorism overshadowed the main public health concern i.e. The AIDS pandemic.

The terrorist attacks of 9/11 and anthrax episode created a great psychological impact on the American nationals and humanity world wide. The World Trade Center attack precipitate an estimated half a million diagnosable mental disorders (mainly post-traumatic stress disorder and depression) in the New York region alone.

The public mental health is important towards combating the threats of terrorism, and strong and matured mental health guarantees effective national defense policy. Consequently government launched many funds in this respect to develop and nourish the mental growth of its citizens.

CONCLUSION

The event of 9/11 has modified the future course of America's…