Epidemiology. DNA identifications after the 9/11 World Trade Center attack

The attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001 challenged current approaches to forensic DNA typing methods. The large number of victims and the extreme thermal and physical conditions of the site necessitated special approaches to the DNA-based identification. Because of these and many additiona...

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Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2005-11, Vol.310 (5751), p.1122-1123
Main Authors: Biesecker, Leslie G, Bailey-Wilson, Joan E, Ballantyne, Jack, Baum, Howard, Bieber, Frederick R, Brenner, Charles, Budowle, Bruce, Butler, John M, Carmody, George, Conneally, P Michael, Duceman, Barry, Eisenberg, Arthur, Forman, Lisa, Kidd, Kenneth K, Leclair, Benoit, Niezgoda, Steven, Parsons, Thomas J, Pugh, Elizabeth, Shaler, Robert, Sherry, Stephen T, Sozer, Amanda, Walsh, Anne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Disaster Planning
DNA
DNA Fingerprinting - methods
DNA, Mitochondrial
Family
Female
Forecasting
Genetic Markers
Humans
Male
September 11 Terrorist Attacks
Specimen Handling
United States
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Summary:The attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001 challenged current approaches to forensic DNA typing methods. The large number of victims and the extreme thermal and physical conditions of the site necessitated special approaches to the DNA-based identification. Because of these and many additional challenges, new procedures were created or modified from routine forensic protocols. This effort facilitated the identification of 1594 of the 2749 victims. In this Policy Forum, the authors, who were were members of the World Trade Center Kinship and Data Analysis Panel, review the lessons of the attack response from the perspective of DNA forensic identification and suggest policies and procedures for future mass disasters or large-scale terrorist attacks.
ISSN:1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1116608