In the wake of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center ( WTC ) , Lioy was able to see the dust plumes from his home in Cranford , New Jersey . The major environmental and occupational health related issue during the aftermath of the building collapses was the size range and composition of the dust and smoke that was released during the first hours to days post collapse of the twin towers , and subsequently the dust that had deposited indoors and required cleanup . In collaboration with multiple laboratories , Lioy examined the composition and size distribution of the WTC dust in detail for inorganic , organic and ionic species . The results were published in a 2002 article entitled '' Characterization of the dust/smoke aerosol that settled east of the WTC in lower Manhattan after the collapse of the WTC September 11 , 2001 '' , and have been used to understand the cause of the WTC cough and other health outcomes . In other work that Lioy and colleagues published through 2009 , they described the time line of exposure to the local population and workers from the moments after the collapse through December 2001 , and pointed out the many lessons that can be learned from the WTC in order to effectively respond to other disasters . At the time of his death , he was working with Dr. Philip J. Landrigan et al. of Mount Sinai School of Medicine on the long-term health effects experienced by WTC workers . During the aftermath Lioy was interviewed many times by the Media on WTC Dust related issues from October 2001 through 2011 The work of Lioy and his colleagues is mentioned in a book by Anthony Depalma entitled '' City of Dust : Illness , Arrogance , and 9/11 '' . Lioy published a book on the WTC dust and his experiences entitled '' Dust : the Inside Story of its Role in the September 11th Aftermath '' in 2010 . In 2009 he received an Ellen Hardin Walworth National Patriotism Medal from the Daughters of the American Revolution for his work on the World Trade Center aftermath
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Paul J. Lioy