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NIST to Officially Launch World Trade Center Investigation

Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2002 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) Engineering Mechanics Bldg. (Bldg. 202) National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md.

The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will hold a press briefing to officially embark on a 24-month building fire and safety investigation to study the structural failure and subsequent progressive collapse of three World Trade Center (WTC) buildings (1, 2 and 7) in New York City following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

NIST Director Arden Bement Jr. and investigation team leaders will provide an overview of the study with recovered WTC steel in the background. Media unable to attend in person may follow the proceedings via a satellite broadcast (coordinates AMC3, K-18) or Webcast.

Following the briefing, there will be a question-and-answer period for media on-site. There also will be opportunities for shooting photos and videos, as well as more in-depth discussions on the recovered steel, computer smoke and fire modeling, and laboratory analysis of the steel.

Directions: Take I-270 North to Exit 10, enter NIST by turning left at the first traffic light (Bureau Dr.) and park next to the security check-in area. After check-in is completed, a shuttle bus will take reporters and production crews to Building 202. From 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. EDT, buses will run repeatedly between the security check-in area and Building 202.

Sign-Up: For security reasons, all media—including production crew members—planning to attend the briefing in person must register by 6 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Aug. 20, by calling (301) 975-2762 or e-mailing media [at] nist.gov (media[at]nist[dot]gov). Only registered media will be allowed on site after showing proper credentials (a news media badge with photo or a photo ID with a business card).

Satellite: Transponder numbers for the satellite downlink are AMC 3, transponder K-18.

From 11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. EDT on Aug. 21, a B-roll video will be run twice via the satellite feed for broadcast stations to downlink. The press briefing will be broadcast in its entirety via the same feed starting at 11:30 a.m. EDT.

Webcast: Go to http://www.nist.gov or http://wtc.nist.gov after 8 a.m. EDT on Aug. 21 to access the link to the Webcast of the press briefing. You will need Real Player or Windows Media Player software to view the live Webcast. A recording of the Webcast will be available for one month following the press briefing.

Released August 19, 2002, Updated January 7, 2021