http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/85/i32/8532news5.html
Toxic Substances
A Senate committee on July 31 approved legislation to ban most uses of asbestos, but included an exemption for some chlor-alkali plants.
Members of the Environment & Public Works Committee were unanimous in their support of the bill, S. 742. The measure would prohibit commercial distribution of materials that contain cancer-causing asbestos.
The ban, however, would not apply to existing chlor-alkali plants that use asbestos diaphragms to separate chlorine, caustic soda, and hydrogen. Few alternatives to asbestos exist, according to the chemical industry, which sought the exemption in the bill.
"We are encouraged by the unanimous support in the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee for legislation that will allow the chlor-alkali industry to continue to safely use asbestos," says Robert J. Simon, managing director of the American Chemistry Council's Chlorine Chemistry Division.
Under S. 742, EPA would regularly review the chlor-alkali industry's exemption. The agency could revoke the exemption if it finds that use of the asbestos diaphragms poses an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment.
The bill would also provide exemptions to the military and NASA, allowing them to continue to use asbestos for critical functions.
EPA attempted to phase out nearly all asbestos-containing products in 1989, but a federal appeals court threw out the regulation in 1991. The court said EPA did not give enough consideration to alternative ways to control asbestos exposure that would be less burdensome on industry than a ban.
S. 742, which would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act, next goes to the full Senate for consideration.
Copyright © 2007 American Chemical Society
Bill to Ban Asbestos Passes Committee, by William Gallahue, American Chronicle, August 1, 2007
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=33940
WASHINGTON – A complete ban on asbestos products in the United States will now go before the Senate this fall as The Ban Asbestos in America Act passed a crucial committee vote.
The bill sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) had been lingering for the past 5 years in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and was often sidetracked by Republican lawmakers. However with the recent power shift, the bill finally made its way to vote where it passed unanimously.
The bill calls for a complete ban of asbestos in products within two years after it becomes law. The chlorine industry, which uses asbestos in manufacturing, will be given a three year period to phase it out once new EPA regulations are written.
In addition the bill will provide $50 million in federal funding for medical asbestos research.
The bill will likely see a final vote in the fall and is expected to earn broad support among both parties.
Murray has been one of the more vocal critics of asbestos. Earlier this year she brought a box of asbestos containing brake pads to a hearing regarding asbestos. Her fight to ban asbestos has become a hallmark of her service in the U.S. Senate.
Asbestos is a deadly carcinogen and inhaling asbestos fibers can lead to cancer. Conditions related to asbestos exposure like mesothelioma and asbestosis are often diagnosed in their advanced stages which often leads to death.
The problem is compounded by a lack of effective medical treatments for the disease. Conventional cancer therapies like chemotherapy and radiation are generally ineffective and surgery is even more of a risk.
Lawsuits from asbestos exposure are in the tens of thousands and many companies have been forced into bankruptcy due to the cost of litigation. To curb growing caseloads, some states have begun passing laws regulating who is eligible to file lawsuits with the most recent law being passed by Georgia.
Murray’s bill does not include any provisions on asbestos litigation which drew criticism from Republican Senator Arlen Specter.
Despite the criticism, the bill is likely to pass and could make it to President Bush later this year.
American Chronicle is a trademark of Ultio LLC.
Murray's asbestos bill advances, by Charles Pope, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 31, 2007
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/325817_asbestos01.html
WASHINGTON -- The message from Sen. Patty Murray's office Tuesday was direct and dramatic: Soon, it will be safe to breathe again.
That clearly was the implication as Murray celebrated a major step forward for her bill to ban cancer-causing asbestos from commonly sold products.
The bill, which had been sidetracked for five years by Republicans, surged through the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, by a 19-0 vote.
"I'm thrilled that the entire committee has sent a clear and loud message of support, giving us strong momentum heading to the Senate floor," Murray said. "To the families who have been waiting for help, to the workers who need to be protected, I'd say we're almost there."
Among other things, Murray's bill calls for a complete ban of asbestos in products within two years after the measure becomes law. In a concession to Republicans, the bill would give the chlorine industry three years to phase out asbestos after new regulations are written by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The bill also would provide $50 million in federal money for research into the causes and treatment of asbestos-related cancers. And it would require the federal government to conduct a more aggressive campaign to educate the public about the risks of asbestos.
The bill will most likely move to the floor this fall for a final vote where it is expected to earn broad support. On Tuesday, the only contrary word came from Republican Sen. Arlen Specter.
His concern wasn't about Murray's bill itself but about the broader -- and far more complex and politically volatile -- question of dealing with thousands of lawsuits from people killed and sickened by asbestos.
"An asbestos ban does not solve the problem that has been plaguing our courts for years, forcing many employers into bankruptcy and leaving thousands of workers without compensation," Specter said.
Murray said she would work with Specter, but only to a point.
"My bill is moving forward quickly with strong bipartisan support, and we shouldn't jeopardize this historic opportunity to finally protect American workers and their families from deadly asbestos," she said.
P-I Washington correspondent Charles Pope can be reached at 202-263-6461 or charliepope@seattlepi.com.
©1996-2007 Seattle Post-IntelligencerCommittee approves Sen. Murray's asbestos ban, by David Whitney, The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA), July 31, 2007
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/updates/story/122846.html
After years of trying, the measure heads to the Senate floor
WASHINGTON – A key Senate committee on Tuesday approved Sen. Patty Murray’s legislation banning asbestos from products sold in the United States.
The 19-0 vote sends the measure to the Senate floor. This is the furthest Murray’s legislation has gotten in the three times she’s introduced it.
“I’m thrilled that the entire committee has sent a clear and loud message of support, giving us strong momentum heading to the Senate floor,” she said in a statement.
“To the families who have been waiting for help, to the workers who need to be protected, I’d say we’re almost there,” she said.
Although mining of asbestos is banned in the United States, it is still imported for a number of commercial uses, including brake pads for cars and trucks.
In addition, the number of annual deaths from the fibrous mineral - even a tiny particle can cause cancer when lodged in the lungs - continues to grow. At a hearing in June, witnesses said that more than 230,000 have died from asbestos-caused disease since 1980 and it could claim at least that many more by 2040.
Murray’s bill would ban asbestos, invest as much as $50 million into research and treatment and launch a national public education campaign about the dangers.
Action on Murray’s bill came after she worked out a compromise with Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., to give 16 old chlorine plants that still use asbestos in their production lines time to retool.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate committee, is a co-sponsor of Murray’s bill.
“Today we turn the page on a painful chapter in our nation’s history by reporting a bill that will finally ban asbestos and assist people who suffer from the deadly diseases it causes,” Boxer said.
Murray introduced the bill following reports on the high death rate among people in Libby, Mont., where asbestos used to be mined.
david.whitney@mcclatchydc.com
Copyright 2007 Tacoma News, Inc. A subsidiary of The McClatchy Company
Isakson Praises Senate Panel for Approving Legislation to Permanently Ban Asbestos, The Weekly, July 31, 2007
http://www.theweekly.com/news/2007/July/31/Asbestos.html
WASHINGTON (July 31, 2007) – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today praised the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works for approving legislation he authored with Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to ban the production, manufacture and distribution of asbestos, a deadly carcinogen that is still legally used in the United States.
“Banning asbestos is simply the right thing to do. This legislation provides the framework for how we must go about achieving that goal, and I plan to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make sure this bill reaches the President’s desk,” Isakson said.
The bill establishes a permanent ban of asbestos that will be enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency. The bill also mandates the most thorough government study of asbestos to date. The study will ensure the best experts from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the National Academy of Sciences and the EPA examine all aspects of asbestos, including its natural properties, its geographic distribution across the United States and its effects on the human body.
“It was a pleasure to work with Senator Murray on crafting this legislation. This bill is the culmination of months of bipartisan work to find common ground on this important issue, and I extremely pleased the committee acted quickly to approve it,” Isakson said. “For the few areas where asbestos is still used in the United States, this bill provides a reasonable transition so that Americans can rid themselves of asbestos once and for all.”
Asbestos is known to cause diseases, including mesothelioma, a cancer that occurs when malignant cells develop in the protective lining around the lungs. Despite this hazard, the substance is not banned. The EPA initially proposed a ban of most asbestos-containing materials in the late 1970’s, but the rule was not finalized until 1989. In 1991, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the rule, finding that EPA had “failed to muster substantial evidence” in support of the ban. Today, the United States uses about 2,000 tons of asbestos annually, down from almost 800,000 tons used in the mid-1970’s.
In addition to an outright ban on asbestos, the bill also calls for a national mesothelioma registry, a public information campaign about the hazards of asbestos-containing materials, some narrow exemptions for the few areas in which asbestos can be used safely and an annual testing program for asbestos-containing material in products.
The bill was approved by the Environment and Public Works committee today during a business meeting to consider pending legislation.
Copyright © 1997 - 2007 by The Weekly, All Rights Reserved
Murray's Asbestos Bill Passes Key Committee with Unanimous, Bipartisan Support, Press Release, Office of Senator Patty Murray, Tuesday, July 31, 2007
http://murray.senate.gov/news.cfm?id=280072ease:
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray's landmark bill to protect Americans from deadly asbestos passed the full Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) with unanimous, bipartisan support.
The 19-0 vote included strong support from EPW Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA). Next, the bill will head to the Senate floor. A date for floor consideration has not been set yet.
"I'm thrilled that the entire committee has sent a clear and loud message of support, giving us strong momentum heading to the Senate floor," Murray said. "To the families who have been waiting for help, to the workers who need to be protected, I'd say we're almost there. We've made great progress in the past few months, but I'm not going to stop until we cross the finish line. I'm especially heartened that my bill has garnered unanimous bipartisan support in the EPW committee. I really want to thank Chairman Boxer for her commitment to moving this bill forward and Senator Isakson for his willingness to work in a bipartisan manner."
Murray's bill would ban asbestos, invest in research and treatment, and launch a public education campaign.
Murray started working to ban asbestos six years ago. This March, she re-introduced her legislation as S. 742, the Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007 (S. 742). On March 1st, Senator Murray held a hearing in her Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee on the bill. Then on June 12th, the bill got a hearing before the Environment and Public Works Committee, at which Senator Murray testified. On June 6, Murray discussed the bill's progress at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, where she was joined by doctors, a patient, environmental experts, and advocates.
Shades of 9/11: Weakness beneath NYC surface, by Les Payne, NY Newsday, July 22, 2007
How Cool Heads Handled Mayhem, by Pete Donohue, Alison Gendarand Jonathan Lemire, NY Daily News Exclusive, Sunday, July 22, 2007
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/07/22/2007-07-22_how_cool_heads_handled_mayhem-3.html
The emergency call that brought the firefighters from Engine Company 21 to the corner of Lexington Ave. and 42nd St. was routine.
It was 5:56 p.m. Wednesday and someone was in need of medical attention during the evening rush.
But then the firefighters heard a loud rumble beneath the street. Before they could turn around, a volcano-like explosion a block away from them rocked Manhattan.
"It was midtown Manhattan and rush hour and I think everyone's first thought was, 'Here we go, this is it,'" FDNY Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano said. "Of course we thought this time it was terrorism."
The massive explosion caved in the street, creating a crater that swallowed a tow truck. A torrent of scalding steam blasted mud and rocks 30 stories high, taking the life of a woman and severely injuring three others.
The blast also triggered a massive coordinated response from several city agencies. With the exception of one significant miscommunication between the NYPD and MTA police, the response successfully handled what many initially believed was a large-scale terrorist attack.
Based on exclusive interviews with high-ranking members of the FDNY and NYPD, as well as law enforcement sources, the Daily News has pieced together this detailed chronology of the steampipe explosion:
5:56 p.m.
The crew of Engine Company 21 did not see the 83-year-old steampipe explode. They heard 400-degree steam ripping through the pavement.
"It was like a huge jet engine," Cassano said. "And they knew right away that something big was happening."
Almost immediately, the FDNY sounded a second-alarm, bringing more than 100 firefighters to the street that was rapidly filling with fleeing office workers and commuters in suits splattered with mud and blood.
5:57 p.m.
Fearing that the unknown explosion near two New York landmarks, Grand Central Terminal and the Chrysler Building, was the work of extremists, the NYPD activated its elite counterterrorism and intelligence units.
"We've always known this is a high-risk area and a major target," said Cassano, who monitored the operation from the FDNY's Brooklyn command center.
6 p.m.
As the steam and debris darkened the sky, the NYPD and National Guardsmen stationed in Grand Central began evacuating people from the transit hub.
But at the same time, Metropolitan Transportation Authority police told passengers that the terminal was open and that the trains were running.
"It was initial chaos," a transit source told The News.
For nearly 10 minutes, cops and guardsmen cleared passengers from the station, but MTA police brass finally put a stop to it. MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin said any confusion only lasted a short time. "We very quickly worked with the NYPD to set up a command post and coordinated our activities with them throughout the rest of the event," he said.
Though NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne could not confirm the account, he said, "It wouldn't be particularly surprising that moments after an earth-shattering explosion that there might be some initial confusion."
"Regardless, the emergency response by the NYPD and others was superb," Browne said.
The MTA said emergency protocols call for the NYPD to consult with MTA police, which has jurisdiction over the terminal.
6:05 p.m.
The FDNY sounded a third and fourth alarm.
6:06 p.m.
Six members of the FDNY's Rescue 1 unit ran up Lexington Ave. toward the steam to evacuate two debris-covered city buses that screeched to a halt just yards from the 25-foot-wide crater.
"You could barely hear anyone over the radio because the steam was so deafening," said Fire Lt. Tony Tarabocchia. "It looked like the street was buckling."
"The geyser was kicking up so much mud and water, and the terrain was so terrible, it felt like the whole street was about to give way beneath our feet."
Tarabocchia and Firefighter Sean Cummins pulled an elderly man and a driver off one bus and, with chunks of concrete raining down on them, took off their helmets to cover the heads of the frightened civilians. Other firefighters then ran to six female passengers stranded on the second city bus.
"There was boiling water about ankle-deep covering the street and these women didn't have the right shoes to get through it," Tarabocchia said. "So the boys carried them."
6:10 p.m.
The first of three NYPD helicopters hovered above the explosion, beaming live video of the destruction to NYPD and FDNY commanders on the ground.
Scores of cars left abandoned on Third Ave. briefly slowed the arrival of EMS Lt. Lewis Cook, who directed an urban search-and-rescue team to find people trapped in their office buildings.
"We tried to keep the flow of people orderly, but a lot of them were panicked," said Cook, who helped evacuate Judith Bailey, the seriously burned 30-year-old passenger in the tow truck swallowed by the sink hole. The truck driver, Gregory McCullough, suffered burns over 80% of his body.
Cook also saw paramedics desperately trying to revive 51-year-old Lois Baumerich, the business executive who died of cardiac arrest after the blast.
"It's a tragedy we lost anyone but the toll could have been much higher," said Cook, who survived the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11, a memory that haunted him Wednesday.
6:16 p.m.
As the FDNY sounded a fifth alarm, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence David Cohen reached Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, telling him the explosion was not believed to be terrorism-related.
6:40 p.m.
The NYPD established a "frozen zone" to restrict access from Third to Fifth Aves. between E. 37th and 44th Sts.
Con Edison declared the stretch of Lexington Ave. near the blast site as an "asbestos containment area," prompting both the FDNY and NYPD to hand out masks and set up decontamination sites. Nearly 100 commuters and rescue workers were hosed down by night's end, their clothes taken for testing.
6:56 p.m.
The NYPD sent out a signal that all of New York was waiting to hear - the explosion was not a terror attack.
7:58 p.m.
The roaring steam finally stopped after Con Ed safely turned off the steam supply. A sixth alarm was then sounded by the FDNY for relief, bringing the combined total of cops and firefighters at the scene to more than 500.
"I think we're all very pleased with the operational response," Cassano said. "This is what we train for, and this is what'll be ready for again."
jlemire@nydailynews.com
With Christina Boyle
All contents © 2007 Daily News, L.P.
Airborne Asbestos Hazard Minimized, but Debris Shows Contamination, by Anthony DePalma and Cara Buckley, New York Times, July 20, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/nyregion/20asbestos.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
A small army of workers in coveralls, rubber boots, helmets and, for at least a time, respirators swept away mud and asphalt yesterday from the vicinity of Wednesday’s steam pipe explosion as health officials and environmental experts continued to play down the danger from asbestos that was spewed by the blast and later settled to the ground.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said that 12 air samples were taken throughout the day by the city’s Department of Environmental Protection and that none showed evidence of asbestos.
But 14 of 56 samples of debris collected near the blast contained asbestos. Most had just trace amounts of less than 1 percent, Mr. Bloomberg said, but two samples, believed to hold pieces of the pipe insulation, did contain what he called significant amounts of asbestos. Con Edison officials said their own sampling produced similar results.
One sample, from 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, was 8 percent asbestos, while the other, taken at 150 East 42nd Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues, contained 16 percent, according to Charles G. Sturcken, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection. Results from tests on 15 other samples were pending.
Mr. Bloomberg, seeking to reassure New Yorkers, said that the comparatively brief time during which the asbestos fibers were suspended in the air made it “very unlikely” that anyone would suffer long-term illness.
Mr. Bloomberg encouraged people who were showered with the grime on Wednesday to bag their clothes and take them to a Con Ed collection truck for disposal. Con Ed said it would reimburse people for contaminated clothes.
By midday yesterday, about 20 bags had been dropped off at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue, along with a weathered brown leather handbag and a wooden-handled black umbrella.
“There was a little mud on my clothes, and I didn’t want to risk it,” said Jordan Lieu, 30, who had been inside a travel agency he manages at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue when the pipe exploded. He dropped off a shirt, pants, a belt, a briefcase and a pair of shoes, and made a claim of $650.
The mayor said the cleanup would last through early next week. Fire Department crews were scheduled to start hosing down building exteriors in the “frozen zone” around Grand Central Terminal. And the United States Environmental Protection Agency said special street sweepers with high-efficiency filters were set last night to begin roaming the area vacuuming debris.
The city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will order the owners of any buildings they believe have been contaminated to hire qualified inspectors to check their ventilation systems and interior spaces for asbestos. If contamination is found, the owners will have to hire a certified contractor to clean it before the building can be reoccupied.
Kevin Burke, the chairman of Con Edison, said the company would reimburse building owners for any cleanup costs.
Asbestos, typically used as an insulator or fire retardant, was linked in the 1960s to unusually high incidences of lung cancer and other life-threatening diseases in asbestos workers. In the 1970s, the government restricted its use, and it was banned outright in the 1980s.
Still, much of the material remains in place in walls and ceilings and around underground pipes. Experts say it is not a danger as long as it is undisturbed and adequately contained.
As the city moved quickly to clean up the area around Grand Central, there were some questions about whether enough was being done to protect people. Joel R. Kupferman, director of the New York Environmental Law and Justice Project, said the city should have explained whether the debris samples were analyzed using traditional methods or with sensitive electron microscopes, which would have given a more accurate reading.
David M. Newman, an industrial hygienist with the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, a labor organization, said that while the health risk from asbestos exposure appeared to be low, “the people most at risk are the cleanup workers.”
Inside the frozen zone, the presence of asbestos meant all workers should have been wearing respirators under city health department regulations. But not everyone did. As the day grew hotter, dozens of police officers, red-faced and sweaty, began pulling off their masks. Dozens of contract workers laying cable gave in to the midday heat and also pulled off their respirators.
“It doesn’t seem necessary to wear them, they’re getting tests back and they’re negative, so it’s clear,” said a contractor who worked for Empire City Subway, a subsidiary of Verizon.
Enforcing respirator rules is a touchy issue for the city. More than 8,000 cleanup and recovery workers from ground zero are suing the city for negligence, claiming they were not given the proper protective equipment or accurate information about risk at ground zero.
Back to TopStatement of Warning Regarding Asbestos Exposure During July 18 Explosion in New York: Amount of Asbestos Released Unknown; Short Term Exposure Also Poses Risk, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, July 19, 2007
NY Cleans up after Asbestos-Tainted Explosion,
Reuter,
July 19, 2007
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/20/1983277.htm?section=world
Workers have cleaned asbestos-tainted debris from an explosion of a steam pipe that rocked Manhattan as some New Yorkers questioned official reassurances that the air was safe to breathe.
An area beside Manhattan's Grand Central Station remained closed following the blast that shook buildings, creating a towering geyser of debris and sending people fleeing in scenes reminiscent of the September 11 attacks.
Authorities said while the debris from the blast contained asbestos, no airborne samples of the dangerous carcinogen were detected after the blast.
The incident killed one person and injured more than 30, breaking windows in nearby buildings.
Some New Yorkers questioned if the air was safe after false assurances following the September 11 attacks and after utility Consolidated Edison admitted covering up that a steam pipe explosion in 1989, which claimed three lives, spewed asbestos into a residential neighbourhood.
Carlos Garcia, an engineer wearing a breathing mask, says he volunteered during the clean-up of the World Trade Centre site and will not take any risks now.
"I'm worried about the air ... I survived once so I want to survive the second time," he said. "They lie and they want to cover themselves. They have been lying all along since the World Trade Centre," he said.
No Asbestos Found in Air After Blast, by James Barron and Jon Elsen, New York Times, July 19, 2007
Asbestos has been found in the muddy dirt and debris that was spewed forth in a thunderous steam pipe explosion that jolted Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday evening. But no asbestos was found in the air, as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and others had initially feared.
New York City officials said today that it is unlikely that anyone will have long-term health effects from brief exposure to the asbestos.
“Developing an asbestos-related illness after being exposed for a short time — even at high levels — is very unlikely,” city officials reported this morning. “Although we can never say if something is completely safe, from all the information we have obtained, there are unlikely to be long-term physical health consequences.”
Asbestos is a known carcinogen. Most health officials say there is no safe level of exposure. But asbestos-related diseases generally are linked to sustained exposure in industrial settings over many years.
The streets around the area of the explosion near Grand Central Terminal remained closed this morning and city officials created a “frozen area” where people cannot enter because of cleanup and environmental tests. Those already in the area have been allowed to stay.
Subway service to Grand Central, suspended after the blast, resumed today. The Metro-North Railroad was running on a regular schedule, but for a time, riders could enter Grand Central only through the Met Life Building and Grand Central North at 47th Street.
Consolidated Edison urged residents and businesses in East Midtown to reduce their use of electricity as much as possible. Con Ed said that there were no electrical outages in the immediate area, which includes about 14,000 customers, and that the rest of the city was not affected.
The explosion on Wednesday propelled a giant scalding jet of brownish steam toward the sky, sending commuters who had been heading home stampeding to safety.
One woman died, officials said, and 27 were brought to the hospital on Wednesday. The woman who died, Lois Baumerich, 51, an executive at Pfizer, died of an apparent heart attack. Two people remained hospitalized at New York Hospital today, one in critical condition, one in serious condition. The patient in critical condition, Gregory McCullough, was the driver of a tow truck that was flipped over by the force of the blast. He was in a medically induced coma, officials said.
The city said that three firefighters and one police officer were among the injured.
The blast, near 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, raised fears of terrorism, but officials were quick to dismiss that possibility. “There is no reason to believe this is anything other than a failure of our infrastructure,” Mayor Bloomberg said.
The explosion sent up a foul cloud of hot steam mixed with mud, rust-colored gunk and pieces of pavement just before 6 p.m. in one of the busiest parts of the city. The mayor said that some telephone lines had been knocked out, but that electric power had not been.
City officials urged those who might have come into contact with mud or soot from the blast to shower and place their clothes in plastic bags for cleaning or disposal.
Jessica Leighton, a deputy commissioner at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, also cautioned people inside buildings near the blast to close windows and set air-conditioners to recirculate the air inside instead of drawing in air from outside.
As people on the sidewalks scrambled to flee the blast and office workers in the buildings above looked down in horror, debris from the geyser pelted nearby skyscrapers. Then it rained on the streets like a sudden hailstorm. Some witnesses said the jet of steam roared like Niagara Falls.
Some people ran so fast their shoes came off. Others dropped their briefcases and purses. Men in tailored suits were caught in a lapel-singeing cloud. At a health club high up in the Grand Hyatt hotel next to Grand Central, people working out on the treadmills said the explosion was so powerful they worried the building would collapse. The steam shot up from a crater that looked like that of a volcano, with orange flames and bubbling mud around the edges. The explosion packed enough force to flip over a tow truck that ended up in the crater, which was about 35 by 40 feet. Several hours after the blast, officials said the crater could grow even larger because pavement at the edges was in danger of collapse.
The cloud of steam — and the hail of debris that followed — lasted more than two hours and immediately raised concerns about asbestos, which was used when the pipe was laid in the 1920s. Officials advised people who had been in the neighborhood to discard their clothes and bathe carefully.
The mayor said the explosion appeared to have been caused by cold water that reached the pipe, which measured more than a foot and half in diameter and dated to 1924. “Cold water apparently causes these to explode,” he said.
Con Edison, which maintains the steam pipes beneath the city’s streets, said the pipe ruptured at 5:56 p.m. Kevin Burke, the chairman of Con Edison, said crews had checked the pipe after the thunderstorm that soaked the city in the morning. He said a heavy rain can cause a “vapor condition” if rainwater seeps onto a steam pipe, causing the steam to condense. He said the inspection earlier in the day had given no indication that anything was amiss.
There have been more than a dozen steam pipe explosions in the city in the last 20 years. One of the largest shook the neighborhood around Gramercy Park in 1989 and did millions of dollars in damage. Three people were killed, two of them Con Edison employees who had been working in the street before the explosion.
The explosion on Wednesday began with a deep, rumbling noise. “It was, like, surreal, man, this rumbling, like Old Faithful,” said Randy Rocha, a bus driver who was pulling away from a stop on 42nd Street with about 20 passengers aboard when the pipe ruptured.
He described plunging into the suddenly dark street. His uniform was splattered with mud the way a housepainter’s clothes are splattered with color. Mr. Rocha could not read his wristwatch — it too was covered with mud.
In the skyscrapers that surround Grand Central, office workers realized that what they were hearing were not the usual sounds of the evening rush, of buses hitting manhole covers or dump trucks changing gears.
“It sounded at first like thunder, but it just didn’t end,” said Andrew T. Frankel, a lawyer whose office is at Lexington Avenue and 43rd Street.
Tabi Freedman, an information technology specialist who was walking out of Grand Central, said, “The ground was moving, the windows were rattling, and me and everybody else, we all looked up.” She added, “I’ve been to Yellowstone, and that’s what I thought of — the pitch, the volume, the shrieking, the steam and the vibration.”
Ken Houghton, a consultant who works at 101 Park Avenue, between 40th and 41st Streets, said he first thought what was coming down was hail. “Then we saw rocks hitting the window on the seventh floor,” he said. Officials said later that six nearby buildings had sustained minor damage, mainly to windows on the lower floors.
More than 250 firefighters and 300 police officers were sent to the area. The Fire Department treated the blast as if it were a five-alarm blaze, and firefighters who approached the geyser had breathing tanks on their backs. Before long, ambulances were slicing past the stalled cars and buses, and were taking people who had been caught in the shower from the geyser to hospitals.
A trauma worker at Bellevue Hospital Center estimated that a dozen patients suffering minor injuries were taken there. Most of the injuries appeared to have been caused by falling debris; one person sustained a broken ankle, he said. As a precaution, patients were stripped and showered when they arrived.
Mr. Burke of Con Edison said a number of 13,000-volt feeder cables for the utility’s electric system had been damaged in the explosion. He said crews would lay new cables under the streets to bypass the damaged ones. He said that 15 to 20 buildings that tap into the steam pipes had been taken out of service.
Five hours after the explosion, wisps of steam continued to rise from the crater. Lexington Avenue remained closed, with barricades keeping onlookers two to four blocks away and emergency vehicles lining the street — ambulances, fire trucks, tractors and fork lifts. The Lexington Avenue subways were running, but were not stopping at 42nd Street.
Reporting was contributed by Diane Cardwell, Sewell Chan, Glenn Collins, James Estrin, Cassi Feldman, Ashley Gilbertson, Thomas J. Lueck, Michael Luo, Dylan Loeb McClain, Colin Moynihan, Anthony Ramirez, William K. Rashbaum, John Schwartz, Nicholas W. Skyles, Dalton Walker, Mathew R. Warren and Ethan Wilensky-Lanford.
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
Steam Blast Jolts Midtown, Killing One, by James Barron, New York Times, July 19, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/nyregion/19explode.html
A steam pipe explosion beneath a street near Grand Central Terminal yesterday propelled a giant scalding jet of brownish steam toward the sky, sending commuters who had been heading home stampeding to safety.
Officials said that one person died and more than 30 were hurt, two of them critically. The city said that three firefighters and one police officer were among the injured.
The blast, near 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, raised fears of terrorism, but officials were quick to dismiss that possibility. "There is no reason to believe this is anything other than a failure of our infrastructure," Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said.
The explosion sent up a foul cloud of hot steam mixed with mud, rust-colored gunk and pieces of pavement just before 6 p.m. in one of the busiest parts of the city. The mayor said that some telephone lines had been knocked out, but that electric power had not been.
As people on the sidewalks scrambled to flee and office workers in the buildings above looked down in horror, debris from the geyser pelted nearby skyscrapers. Then it rained on the streets like a sudden hailstorm. Some witnesses said the jet of steam roared like Niagara Falls.
Some people ran so fast their shoes came off. Others dropped their briefcases and purses. Men in tailored suits were caught in a lapel-singeing cloud. At a health club high up in the Grand Hyatt hotel next to Grand Central Terminal, people working out on the treadmills said the explosion was so powerful they worried the building would collapse. The steam shot up from a crater that looked like that of a volcano, with orange flames and bubbling mud around the edges. The explosion packed enough force to flip over a tow truck that ended up in the crater, which was about 35 by 40 feet. Several hours after the blast, officials said the crater could grow even larger because pavement at the edges was in danger of collapse.
The cloud of steam — and the hail of debris that followed — lasted more than two hours and raised concerns about asbestos, which was used when the pipe was laid in the 1920s. Officials advised people who had been in the neighborhood to discard their clothes and bathe carefully.
The mayor said the explosion appeared to have been caused by cold water that reached the pipe, which measured more than a foot and half in diameter and dated to 1924. "Cold water apparently causes these to explode," he said.
Con Edison, which maintains the steam pipes beneath the city's streets, said the pipe ruptured at 5:56 p.m. Kevin Burke, the chairman of Con Edison, said crews had checked the pipe after the thunderstorm that soaked the city in the morning. He said a heavy rain can cause a "vapor condition" if rainwater seeps onto a steam pipe, causing the steam to condense. He said the inspection earlier in the day had given no indication that anything was amiss.
Michael S. Clendenin, a spokesman for the utility, said tests would be conducted for asbestos. "We always assume there's asbestos in a steam pipe," he said, "so we are treating these materials sent up by the rupture, including piping, as if asbestos were in them."
There have been more than a dozen steam pipe explosions in the city in the last 20 years. One of the largest shook the neighborhood around Gramercy Park in 1989 and did millions of dollars in damage. Three people were killed, two of them Con Edison employees who had been working in the street before the explosion.
Within hours of the blast yesterday, Con Ed and the city's Department of Environmental Protection began taking air samples to determine whether asbestos had been released. They were also checking the debris that littered the street. Mr. Bloomberg said subway entrances and exits would also be tested.
The mayor urged people who might have come into contact with mud or soot from the blast to wash carefully, and to have their clothes cleaned separately as soon as possible.
Jessica Leighton, a deputy commissioner at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, also cautioned people inside buildings near the blast to close windows and set air-conditioners to recirculate the air inside instead of drawing in air from outside.
Asbestos is a known carcinogen. Most health officials say there is no safe level of exposure. But asbestos-related diseases generally are linked to sustained exposure in industrial settings over many years.
The explosion yesterday began with a deep, rumbling noise. "It was, like, surreal, man, this rumbling, like Old Faithful," said Randy Rocha, a bus driver who was pulling away from a stop on 42nd Street with about 20 passengers aboard when the pipe ruptured.
He described plunging into the suddenly dark street. His uniform was splattered with mud the way a housepainter's clothes are splattered with color. Mr. Rocha could not read his wristwatch — it too was covered with mud.
In the skyscrapers that surround Grand Central, office workers realized that what they were hearing were not the usual sounds of the evening rush, of buses hitting manhole covers or dump trucks changing gears.
"It sounded at first like thunder, but it just didn't end," said Andrew T. Frankel, a lawyer whose office is at Lexington Avenue and 43rd Street.
Tabi Freedman, an information technology specialist who was walking out of Grand Central, said, "The ground was moving, the windows were rattling, and me and everybody else, we all looked up." She added, "I've been to Yellowstone, and that's what I thought of — the pitch, the volume, the shrieking, the steam and the vibration."
Ken Houghton, a consultant who works at 101 Park Avenue, between 40th and 41st Streets, said he first thought what was coming down was hail. "Then we saw rocks hitting the window on the seventh floor," he said. Officials said later that six nearby buildings sustained minor damage, mainly to windows on the lower floors.
More than 250 firefighters and 300 police officers were sent to the area. The Fire Department treated the blast as if it were a five-alarm blaze, and firefighters who approached the geyser had breathing tanks on their backs. Before long, ambulances were slicing past the stalled cars and buses, and were taking people who had been caught in the shower from the geyser to hospitals.
A trauma worker at Bellevue Hospital Center estimated that a dozen patients suffering minor injuries were taken there. Most of the injuries appeared to have been caused by falling debris; one person sustained a broken ankle, he said. As a precaution, patients were stripped and showered when they arrived.
The one death reported from the explosion was apparently caused by a heart problem. The victim, a woman, had apparently been close to the explosion, he said.
Mr. Burke of Con Edison said a number of 13,000-volt feeder cables for the utility's electric system had been damaged in the explosion. He said crews would lay new cables under the streets to bypass the damaged ones. He said that 15 to 20 buildings that tap into the steam pipes had been taken out of service.
Five hours after the explosion, wisps of steam continued to rise from the crater. Lexington Avenue remained closed, with barricades keeping onlookers two to four blocks away and emergency vehicles lining the street — ambulances, fire trucks, tractors and fork lifts. The Lexington Avenue subways were running, but were not stopping at 42nd Street.
Reporting was contributed by Diane Cardwell, Sewell Chan, Glenn Collins, James Estrin, Cassi Feldman, Ashley Gilbertson, Thomas J. Lueck, Michael Luo, Dylan Loeb McClain, Colin Moynihan, Anthony Ramirez, William K. Rashbaum, John Schwartz, Nicholas W. Skyles, Dalton Walker, Mathew R. Warren and Ethan Wilensky-Lanford.
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
City: Air Tests Clean in Steam Blast; Some Solids Not, by Adam Goldman, Associated Press, July 19, 2007
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/am-air0720,0,7203143.story?coll=ny-main-bigpix
Advertising executive Saul Gitlin watched the chaos from the windows of his high-rise office: Thousands of frantic people scrambling through the streets after an explosion rocked midtown Manhattan.
"We couldn't see what they were running from," Gitlin, 44, said later. "Like most New Yorkers these days, we assumed the worst. We thought terrorism."
In the end, the blast had nothing to do with terrorism, but rather a ruptured steam pipe that left an enormous gash in the middle of the street. But as people mobbed the streets -- running, screaming, crying -- and a giant cloud rose into the air, as high as the surrounding skyscrapers, the same fearsome thought seemed to cross everyone's mind: Was this another dreaded terror attack on New York?
Soot kept falling from the sky, covering some pedestrians. Others looked wet. The sky was blackened. And many people seemed to wander aimlessly, not knowing where to go.
"Nobody knew what was really going on. We felt tremors, and heard a bang," said Kevin Swanepoel, 45, of Milford, Conn., who had been in lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001.
Maximo Biber, who owns called Sam's Place, a restaurant about two blocks from the explosion site, said he felt the ground shake while he was outside for a cigarette break.
"I had 25 people inside my restaurant, and I opened the door and said, 'Just go. Move. You don't have to pay,"' he said.
Some buildings in the area, no doubt, could be possible targets for terrorism.
A block away on Third Avenue is the high-rise that houses some Homeland Security offices. Nearby is the Citicorp building, an international financial center where security has been heightened for years. The American Zionist Federation also has an office in the area.
When the smoke subsided hours later, simple facts allayed human fears: A steam pipe that is more than 80 years old had burst.
But asbestos contamination was a concern. Tests showed the explosion did not leave asbestos in the air, but the chemical was found in some solid debris and dust that settled after the blast, the city Office of Emergency Management said early Thursday.
Tests were continuing, but the agency said in a statement that any exposures to asbestos would have been brief, and long-term health problems were "unlikely."
Some city steam pipes are wrapped in asbestos, a chemical often used in insulation and fireproofing material until the mid-1970s. Its tiny fibers can cause cancer and other serious diseases when inhaled over many years, according to the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
As crews worked on repairs, stretches of several major thoroughfares remained closed early Thursday. City officials said workers would not be allowed into office buildings in a zone that covered several blocks.
Officials deemed buildings around the crater safe, although the area within several feet of the hole was less stable.
Some subway service that had been suspended after the blast was restored early Thursday, though subways continued to bypass their Grand Central Terminal stops. Metro-North commuter trains were stopping at Grand Central, but only four entrances on the northern side of the famous station were open.
In the basement of Grand Central, restaurant manager Cesar Vallejo was back at work Wednesday evening at Brother Jimmy's to Go, but it was quieter than normal for rush hour in the bustling transportation hub. He said all the stores were closed.
Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.
Bloomy's 'Big Fear' Is Asbestos Cloud, by David Seifman, Jennifer Cook and Andy Geller, New York Post, July 19, 2007
Initial air tests for asbestos after Wednesday's steam pipe blast were negative, city officials said Thursday. Debris from the explosion under 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue were positive, however the city's Office of Emergency Management said long-term health problems were "unlikely. "I
The city said it would conduct exhaustive checks and keeping people out of the 30 buildings, mostly office structures, in the zone until officials are sure.
The possibility of asbestos contamination arose when a steam pipe -- installed in 1924 -- burst. Some pipes carrying steam through the city are wrapped in asbestos.
"The big fear that we have is there may or may not have been asbestos release," Mayor Bloomberg said.
If there was such a release, it may have been washed away by the water that came with the steam, but city officials weren't taking the risk lightly.
They were testing the air and the 42nd Street subway station at Grand Central.
Some cops were also giving face masks to building workers.
"If you walk around where it happened without a mask, the back of your throat starts to itch and your nose starts to burn," one cop explained.
Although Bloomberg said the results might be ready last night, Con Ed boss Kevin Burke said the utility was conducting its own tests and more time was needed.
In the meantime, city officials told residents to stay out of the hot zone - from 40th to 43rd streets and from Third to Vanderbilt avenues.
And Jessica Lang of the city Health Department said people should act as if there is contamination.
Anyone exposed to the debris should wash with soap and water and place their clothing in a plastic bag, she said. Area residents should close their windows and use air conditioning.
Some people were so worried about asbestos contamination, they went to hospitals to have themselves checked out.
One of them was Jill Tunick, 24, who was leaving Grand Central Terminal when the blast occurred.
"I got covered in dust - actually splattered - and I was not taking any chances," she said.
She went to New York Hospital, where she was told to shower, put her clothes in a plastic bag and come back if she had any symptoms.
Christine Finney, 30, Louise Stonemetz, 29, and Suzanne Harding, 36, all from Boston, were getting pedicures at a nail salon at 41st Street and Madison Avenue when the pipe exploded.
Terrified, they ran barefoot to 34th and Seventh Avenue - and decided to return home.
"I didn't feel comfortable staying here and breathing in the air," Stonemetz said.
Asbestos, once prized as a flame-retardant, has been banned because its fibers can cause asbestosis - a scarring of the lungs - and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer.
Additional reporting by Kaili McDonnough
Copyright 2007 NYP Holdings, Inc
Mayor Says No Asbestos Found In Air Around Explosion Site, NY1 News,
July 19, 2007
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=8&aid=71827
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday that tests conducted in the air around the site of Wednesday's steam pipe explosion on the corner of Lexington and 41st Street show no asbestos.
Debris and dust from the explosion that was tested did show trace amounts of the material.
The explosion caused a crater so large it swallowed up an entire tow truck. One 57-year-old woman died of a heart attack as she was fleeing the area, and 45 others were injured. Two people remain in critical condition.
Emergency workers spent the night testing the air for asbestos, and so far, none of the samples has tested positive for asbestos. The pipe was installed in 1924, when asbestos was used. Trace amounts of asbestos were found in the chunks of debris that were tested, but airborne asbestos is the real risk.
"Health experts have found that it is very unlikely that brief exposure to asbestos, even at very high levels of asbestos, causes any long-term consequences," said the mayor. "Our health department confirms that the exposures that people may have experienced yesterday, to the very low levels of asbestos, are highly unlikely to cause any long-term health problems whatsoever."
"What we're talking about in Midtown is steam primarily and some debris and some insulation material," said City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden. "What we're talking about [with the] 9/11 air was pulverized concrete and building materials. In 9/11, we were talking about the dust that was inhaled. [The air] we're talking about with the recent incident was clean and also wet down the particles."
Still, the mayor said the city will continue to test the air and debris to make sure nobody is exposed.
Bloomberg said the Occupational Safety and Health Association will be working with the city to ensure that everyone at the site is wearing appropriate protective gear.
Some workers and passers-by were not taking any chances and wore masks as they walked through.
"I think most people are used to dealing with issues in the city,” said another Midtown worker, Larry Spector. “So far for me it’s been pretty easy.”
Con Ed is asking anyone that got mud and debris from the blast on their clothing to come to special claims vans they have set up at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue and on Lexington Avenue between 45th and 46th Streets – where people can turn in their clothes and file a claim.
The mayor said that those who own buildings in the "frozen zone" must hire qualified businesses to test areas exposed to the environment for asbestos. Con Ed said it will reimburse the owners for any necessary cleanup.
Con Ed officials concluded that rain was likely what caused the 20-inch steam pipe to burst. They say cold water comes into contact with a hot pipe it causes stress on the metal, and that may be what happened Wednesday.
The utility is still investigating the incident and is asking commercial and residential customers in the area to conserve electricity.
As the cleanup continues, many streets remain closed around the area.
The frozen zone surrounding the area of the explosion remains in effect from 40th Street to 43rd Street between Vanderbilt Avenue to Third Avenue. No one is being allowed to enter the area, including residents and workers.
City officials say as the clean up continues, the size of the frozen zone will shrink.
"It sucks," said one New Yorker. "It's basically a big run around. The city is a mess but it looks like they are working hard though. I was looking through the window and you could see everyone working throughout the night, last night also."
"It's like the transit strike, a winter storm, unfortunately 9/11, New Yorkers just try to make it in," said another.
"Traffic was backed up," said a third. "I actually was pretty lucky today cause I got to work about 50 minutes late, but some of my co-workers got to work an hour-and-a-half late. One lady I know got to work two hours late. So it really inconvenienced a lot of people."
As of Thursday night, the following streets in the area were closed:
Lexington Avenue is closed from 40th Street to 43th Street. The work in this area, which includes the repairing of the crater, could extend well into next week.
Park Avenue is closed from 34th Street to 54th Street.
42nd Street is closed from Park Avenue to Third Avenue. Con Ed is working on clean-up in the area and hopes to have the street reopened by Monday.
Third Avenue is closed from 38th Street to 42nd Street. The mayor says the city hopes to have the avenue reopened tomorrow at 6 a.m.
Much of the area around Grand Central Terminal remains closed, which has caused many businesses located in the terminal to take a hit.
"We're dead. I mean, we have no business whatsoever, you know, they've had the [Lexington Avenue] passageway blocked off," said one local business owner. "These doors are going to closed for about 2 or 3 days now, so obviously, if you can't come down here and walk out the door, then why would you come down to the passageway?"
New York City Transit says its crews have examined the tunnels in the vicinity of the explosion and didn't find any structural defects or breach of the subway structure. Power was restored to all tracks in the area at 11:50 last Wednesday.
Service on the Lexington Avenue Line was restored by late Thursday morning, and the 4, 5, 6, and 7 trains are now stopping at Grand Central-42nd Street station in both directions.
Service on the S was also restored in both direction between the Times Square-42nd Street station and the Grand Central-42nd Street station.
Access to Grand Central for Metro North is now available at the following points:
While the frozen zone is in effect, commuters can expect delays on the M42, M98, M101, M102, M103 and M104 bus routes.
Also, all Third Avenue QM1A, QM2, QM4, QM10, QM12, QM22, QM24 are running on First Avenue to 49th Street and then back to the regular route on Third Avenue.
All BxM1 buses are running on Lexington to 79th Street, then onto Fifth Avenue to 23rd Street. Northbound buses are using First Avenue to 49th Street and then back to the regular route.
For many, Wednesday's explosion, which sent steam, mud and debris billowing into the air, at points even higher than the tops of surrounding buildings, immediately brought to mind images of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.
“Like thunder, only ten times as loud,” said a witness. “For a moment we thought it was thunder, and then we realized it was something else. My secretary ran to my door and screamed, ‘let’s run out of the building; let’s get out.’ We all ran out into the street and there were literally thousands of people running and looking back at the explosion, just like 9/11. As a matter of fact, I kept flashing on 9/11.”
Those concerns were quickly quelled, once it was determined that the steam pipe had exploded.
Wednesday was not the first time a steam pipe exploded in the city. In August of 1989, a pipe exploded in Gramercy, killing three and injuring 24 others.
Copyright © 2007 NY1 News. All rights reserved.
Update on the City's Response to the Steam Pipe Explosion: No Air Samples Test Positive for Asbestos, Press Release, Office of Emergency Management, July 19, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Update #3, 7/19/2007, 6:30 AM
UPDATE ON THE CITY’S RESPONSE TO THE STEAM PIPE EXPLOSION
No Air Samples Test Positive for Asbestos, Clean-Up Plan for Debris and Equipment That Tested Positive for Asbestos Began Overnight
Individuals Who Live and Work in the Frozen Zone Will Not be Permitted to Enter the Area During Clean-Up
The City’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) continues to coordinate the inter-agency response to the steam pipe explosion on Lexington Avenue. City agencies continue to operate in the area. All emergencies should be reported to 911.
The following is an update of the City’s response to the affected area:
Department of Environmental Protection
The Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Environmental Compliance has conducted an assessment of air and debris in the area and determined that of eight air samples taken, none tested positive for asbestos. Out of 10 bulk samples – debris and dust – taken from the surrounding area, six registered positive for asbestos and four were negative. With the positive bulk sample readings, DEP will continue testing to further determine the contents of the debris at and away from the site of the explosion.
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
While exposure to asbestos over many years carries known health risks, the brief exposures that people may have experienced after last night’s steam pipe break are not likely to cause long-term health consequences. Developing an asbestos-related illness after being exposed for a short time – even at high levels – is very unlikely. Although we can never say if something is completely safe, from all the information we have obtained, there are unlikely to be long term physical health consequences.
OSHA, the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration, is on-scene to make sure that workers in the area are taking proper precautions.
As detailed during the Mayor’s briefing, people who may came into contact with the steam or debris should take a shower and place their clothes in plastic bags for cleaning or disposal.
People inside buildings in the frozen zone should keep windows closed and switch air-conditioners to re-circulate the air inside instead of drawing in air from outside.
For more information on asbestos please visit:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/ei/eiasbest.shtml
Clean-Up Began Last Night
The clean-up of dirt and debris has begun, led by specially trained contractors. The clean-up of 3rd Avenue has been completed and will be re-opened following electrical work necessary to support the network in the area.
Frozen Zone Remains in Place
In an abundance of caution, and to facilitate an expeditious clean-up, the frozen zone will remain in place. The frozen zone is comprised of the area between 40th Street and 43rd Street and between Vanderbilt Avenue and Third Avenue. While individuals who are already in the frozen zone are permitted to stay where they are, individuals are not permitted to enter the zone from outside the area. As clean-up work progresses, the City will work to shrink the size of the frozen zone.
Members of the media are requested to emphasize to their viewers, listeners, and readers that people who work in the frozen zone, between 40th and 43rd Streets and between Vanderbilt Avenue to Third Avenue, will not be permitted to enter the area on Thursday morning.
Equipment Staging Area Established
A limited-access equipment staging area created by OEM, the NYPD, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene exists from 38th St to 45th St from Park Avenue to 3rd Avenue to allow emergency equipment into the area. While residents and employees of businesses will be allowed into the equipment staging area, vehicles will not be allowed to enter.
Department of Buildings
Buildings inspectors and forensic engineers remain on the scene to assist the Office of Emergency Management with structural assessments and engineering expertise.
Community Assistance Unit
The Mayor's Community Assistance Unit continues to work with affected building owners and local elected officials.
Department of Transportation
The following streets in the area surrounding the steam pipe explosion remain closed to vehicles, as previously announced:
• Lexington Avenue is closed from 57th Street to 34th Street.
• Third Avenue is closed from 38th Street to 42nd Street.
• Park Avenue is closed from 54th Street to 34th Street.
• 42nd Street is closed from Park Avenue to Third Avenue.
• Vanderbilt Avenue is closed for its entire length from 42nd Street to 47th Street.
MTA
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has informed OEM that there are no structural defects or breaches of the subway infrastructure. In addition, no debris from the explosion was found in the subway tunnels in the area.
Metro-North continues to operate regular service into and out of Grand Central Terminal. As announced at the 8:00 briefing, customers may only enter and exit Grand Central via the Met Life Building and Grand Central North at 47th Street.
The 4, 5 and 6 IRT lines have returned to a normal schedule, but service is bypassing Grand Central at reduced speed. The 7 line continues to bypass Grand Central at reduced speed. The 42nd Street Shuttle (S) remains suspended
Passengers on the 4 and 5 lines traveling southbound and headed to destinations near Grand Central are advised to, if possible, transfer to a downtown 6 train at the 59th/Lexington station for service to 51st Street or 33rd Street. Passengers on the 4 and 5 lines traveling northbound and headed to destinations near Grand Central are advised to, if possible, transfer to an uptown #6 train at 14th Street/Union Square station for service to 33rd Street.
Bus Service is re-routed in the vicinity of the area on the M101, M102, M103 and M98. The M104 and M42 buses terminate at Times Square/42nd Street.