WTC Disaster Study Recommendations

After issuance of the final report, the National Construction Safety Team Act requires NIST to:

Conduct, or enable or encourage the conducting of, appropriate research recommended by the Team;

Promote (consistent with existing procedures for the establishment of building standards, codes, and practices) the appropriate adoption by the Federal Government, and encourage the appropriate adoption by other agencies and organizations, of the recommendations of the Team with respect to:

• Technical aspects of evacuation and emergency response procedures;
• Specific improvements to building standards, codes, and practices; and
• Other actions needed to help present future building failures.

The NIST recommendations resulting from the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster study impact about 37 specific national standards, codes, and practice guidelines or regulations. In carrying out this work, NIST recognizes that not all of the recommendations will have an impact on model building codes. Many will impact standards that are referenced in model codes. Others will impact stand alone standards used in practice but not referenced in model codes. A few will impact practices, including education and training, that don't have any impact on codes and standards.

• List of Recommendations and Implementation Status (pdf) last update: August 8, 2011
• NIBS Effort: Translating Recommendations into Model Building Codes
• Crosswalk of Recommendations to Categories (pdf)
• Standards Affected by the Recommendations (pdf)
• Model Codes Affected by the Recommendations (pdf)
• Organizations Affected by the Recommendations (pdf)
• Changes to ICC Building Codes Consistent with Recommendations from NIST's WTC Towers Investigation (Approved at the Final Action Hearings of the International Code Council, May 2010)
• Changes to ICC Building and Fire Codes Consistent with Recommendations from NIST's WTC Towers Investigation (Approved at the Final Action Hearings of the International Code Council Minneapolis, Minn., September 15-21, 2008)
• Changes to the NFPA Building and Fire Codes Consistent with Recommendations from NIST's WTC Investigation (Approved at the NFPA Annual Meeting and Standards Council Action on 2009 Documents, July 2008)