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December 2, 2008 8:01:36 PM CST

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Fed Agency Battles Tough Post-9/11 Building Code

Posted Sep 8, 08 3:36 AM CDT in US 

(Newser) – A federal agency is joining major landlords in fighting tough new building safety standards developed in the wake of 9/11, the New York Times reports. The requirements, added last year after a federal probe into the Twin Towers collapse, call for better fireproofing and extra stairwells. But the General Services Administration,which manages federal property, complains that the cost could outweigh safety benefits.

It doesn’t “take a rocket scientist to figure out that requiring additional exit stairs will improve overall occupant evacuation times,” said an agency fire safety engineer. “The bigger question is, at what economic cost to society?” But supporters of the changes, which face a vote next week, feel otherwise. “It's unbelievable to me that our tax dollars are being spent to fight safety improvements,” said a fire science expert.

Source New York Times

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Ground Zero is shown Tuesday, May 6, 2008 in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
The sun rises over the skyline of the Upper West side of Manhattan as seen from Weehaken, N.J.   (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)
An artist's rendering of three proposed designs for the remaining towers at the World Trade Center site in New York, shown alongside the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, left.   (AP Photo/Silverstein Properties)
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