# What is done with wreckage/debris? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 14, 2001, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495 "2001-09-14T00:56:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tfnb34a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@tfnb34a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tfnb34a)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/1 "2001-09-14T00:56:58Z")
After a disaster such as the WTC, the Oklahoma city bombing, or an airliner crash, what is done with wreckage and debris? Is it, once deemed no longer needed, just dumped in a landfill or is it stored somewhere? I would think, for a plane, storage might be feasible, but for a building like in Oklahoma city, the debris would be put it in a landfill. Just curious, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommy_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/2 "2001-09-14T01:03:59Z")
Earlier, ABC News said that there was enough steel on the ground to make 20 Eiffel Towers. Unbelievable. Personally, I think that the recovered materiel ought to be used to make some sort of monument. I don’t know what is usually done with the rubble. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/3 "2001-09-14T01:15:47Z")
Last I heard, they’re taking it to the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island and sifting through it before dumping it. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/4 "2001-09-14T01:22:06Z")
They are sifting through it but are not dumping it. It is the largest collection of evidence in history. Or so someone said on ABC last night (Australian time). ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/5 "2001-09-14T15:36:15Z")
“Largest collection of evidence”… They don’t have to keep it ALL, do they (for evidence purposes)? But this leads me to ask: What are the requirements for keeping evidence? Do they still have the pieced-together wreckage of PanAm 103? My guess is that after a while they would only retain written records and pictures, but I don’t know if there is any rule on this. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/6 "2001-09-14T16:06:45Z")
I’ve read elswhere that there were some 100,000 tons of steel in each tower. In addition, the outer structural members were sheathed in aluminum. It seems likely these materials would eventually be recycled rather than discarded. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/7 "2001-09-14T16:41:44Z")
Would be nice if some of the structural metal is kept and recycled into whatever will replace the WTC. They could also use some concrete from the Pentagon. ---
**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/8 "2001-09-14T20:56:22Z")
Wasn’t the structural metal damaged and that was the reason why the towers fell? Changes in the metal’s character because of the high temperature fire? Jois ---
**Author:** ![Threadkiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@Threadkiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Threadkiller)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/9 "2001-09-14T21:21:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jois \* > Wasn’t the structural metal damaged and that was the reason why the towers fell? Changes in the metal’s character because of the high temperature fire? > > Jois The high heat from the fire was the reason the towers fell. Steel loses structural integrity at high temperatures (it doesn’t have to get near the melting point as some reporters were implying). There is nothing wrong with recycling the steel as recovery of the steel is _much_ cheaper than smelting from the ore. The resulting metal will be as good as new (probably better given manufacturing advances in the past 30 years). They will certainly use some of the material to make a memorial but they don’t need that much steel unless they are going to rebuild the whole thing as a memorial. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/10 "2001-09-14T21:40:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JCHeckler \* > \*\*“Largest collection of evidence”… They don’t have to keep it ALL, do they (for evidence purposes)? > > But this leads me to ask: What are the requirements for keeping evidence? Do they still have the pieced-together wreckage of PanAm 103? My guess is that after a while they would only retain written records and pictures, but I don’t know if there is any rule on this. \*\* Yes they do have to gather and keep it all. The plan is to rebuild the two planes piece by piece as best as they can to determine what exacly happened. Same thing happened with TWA Flight 800. They collected about 90-95% of the plane and body parts from the Long Island sound, and pieced it back together. This is done for insurance purposes, as well as for evidentary procedure. Also, lawsuits unfortunately have an important stake in this grisly jigsaw puzzle. ---
**Author:** ![Shane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shane/32/10599_2.png) [@Shane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shane)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/11 "2001-09-14T22:12:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by capacitor \* > Yes they do have to gather and keep it all. The plan is to rebuild the two planes piece by piece as best as they can to determine what exacly happened. Same thing happened with TWA Flight 800. They collected about 90-95% of the plane and body parts from the Long Island sound, and pieced it back together. This is done for insurance purposes, as well as for evidentary procedure. Also, lawsuits unfortunately have an important stake in this grisly jigsaw puzzle. \*\* Flight 800 didn’t go down in the Long Island Sound, it went down on the in the Atlantic Ocean off the south shore of Long Island. The Long Island Sound in the north shore of Long Island separating it from Connecticut. Unless for some strange reason some debris ended up in the Long Island Sound somehow without my knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/12 "2001-09-14T22:32:59Z")
i was talking about this very topic with a friend of mine, wondering if the are going to try to reconstruct the airliners. seems like a giant waste of time, effort and money. i think its pretty clear what happened to them and why they crashed. i don’t see what good it would do or what additional information they could possible discover. seems the money spent could be better used elsewhere, specificly on the victims families, reconstruction etc etc. just my opinion… ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/13 "2001-09-14T23:01:35Z")
Typically, when there’s an aircraft crash, the insurance company becomes the “owner” of the craft. The remains are collected and stored for the NTSB, or whomever, depending on where the crash is, and after long and tedious investigations, the scrap is then offered for sale as salvage. Then, whatever parts are salvageable, in this particular case, none, can be refurbished through overhaul shops, and sold back to the airlines at a cheaper price than new. Although most US airlines won’t touch “incident related” material, as it’s called, a lot of South American and Third World countries eat this stuff up. At least they have in the last 20 years that I’ve been doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/14 "2001-09-14T23:15:54Z")
hey, weed- thanks for the information. that was very informative. welcome to the group. “incident related” sounds great. reminds me of a pilot friend who told me “near miss” is airline talk for “midair”. this true? ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/15 "2001-09-14T23:24:41Z")
A “near miss” is what my wife is when dinner isn’t on the table when I get home. Seriously, I’ve never understood that term…kinda like “a little bit pregnant” It just doesn’t make cents…thanks for the red carpet. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/16 "2001-09-14T23:35:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weedeater \* > \*\*A “near miss” is what my wife is when dinner isn’t on the table when I get home. Seriously, I’ve never understood that term…kinda like “a little bit pregnant” It just doesn’t make cents…thanks for the red carpet. \*\* Actually, it makes perfect sense. The problem is that most people think that the word “near” in “near miss” means “almost” – so when something is a miss, to call it “almost a miss” makes no sense. However, in the phrase “near miss”, the word “near” actually means “nearby”. So a near miss is a miss where the projectile passed near the target. Ed Suranyi ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/17 "2001-09-15T03:12:35Z")
Thanks for the correction Shane. Gato, you may think that it is a waste of time, but insurance companies have to assess the true damage that they have to pay. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/18 "2001-09-15T03:19:55Z")
Well, to address the OP, yes, they’re dumping the rubble at the Staten Island landfill. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/19 "2001-09-15T06:08:25Z")
Was the name of the landfill “Fresh Kills” _prior_ to Tuesday? If so, what sick freak named it? Even if it wasn’t, what sick freak named it? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2001, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495/20 "2001-09-15T08:14:05Z")
Kill is a part of many place names in those parts of New York State that were settled by the Dutch. Think Peekskill, Catskills, Fishkill, etc… It comes from the Dutch word _kil_, which refers to a stream, creek, or small river. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-done-with-wreckage-debris/81495.md?page=2)