Supports· strongSEP-E009
The agency's own account of why no WTC 7 steel was preserved
- what the source states
- "Steel samples were removed from the site before the NIST investigation began. In the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, debris was removed rapidly from the site to aid in recovery efforts and to facilitate emergency responders' efforts to work around the site. Once it was removed from the scene, the steel from WTC 7 could not be clearly identified. Unlike the pieces of steel from WTC 1 and WTC 2, which were painted red and contained distinguishing markings, WTC 7 steel did not contain such identifying characteristics."
- what we infer
- A candid agency acknowledgment of a permanent evidentiary loss. It forecloses the class of test — direct metallurgical examination of identified WTC 7 steel — that could have discriminated between the competing mechanisms, which is why no future disclosure can fully resolve this branch of the case.
- limitations
- The agency explaining a gap in its own evidentiary base.