NIST to Release Report and Recommendations from Investigation of World Trade Center Building 7

*** Agency Will Hold Public Webcast on August 21 ***

Gaithersburg, Md. -- The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will hold a media briefing and live public webcast on Aug. 21, 2008, in Gaithersburg, Md., on the findings and recommendations from its building and fire safety investigation of the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7 (WTC 7). WTC 7 was a 47-story building that fell nearly seven hours after the World Trade Center (WTC) towers collapsed following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The NIST WTC 7 report will present the probable collapse sequence for the building and will provide recommendations for improving building and fire safety in other buildings similar to WTC 7. The draft WTC 7 investigation report released at the briefing will be open for public comment through noon Eastern Daylight Time on Sept. 15, 2008.

Shyam Sunder, director of the NIST Building and Fire Research Laboratory and lead investigator for the federal building and fire safety investigation of the World Trade Center disaster, will present the report and answer questions from reporters at the briefing. The public will be able to view the briefing through a live webcast that will be accessible from NIST's WTC Web site at http://wtc.nist.gov

What: A media briefing and public webcast on the findings and recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report on the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7 (WTC 7).

When: Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 11 a.m. - Noon Eastern Daylight Time

Web Info : The WTC investigation Web site at http://wtc.nist.gov will contain links to the webcast as well as accompanying materials such as the full report, news release, and accompanying visuals at the time of the briefing.

Reporters: Credentialed journalists who wish to register for the media briefing should contact Ben Stein, (301) 975-3097, ben.stein@nist.gov