One hundred emergency responders have been decontaminated while hundreds of people remain displaced from their homes after the steam pipe blast in Manhattan on Thursday leaked asbestos on to Fifth Avenue.
The explosion left a huge crater in the middle of Fifth Avenue between 21st and 22nd Street where smoke and steam billowed from the ground and enormous pools of water formed after the blast at 6.40am on Thursday. Five people including three civilians suffered minor injuries.
Anyone in the ‘hot zone’ who was left with dust and debris on their clothes has been advised to shower immediately and bag what they were wearing while firefighters removed their uniforms to reduce the risk of exposure.
The asbestos was found in the 86-year-old steam line casing which burst onto the street as a result of the build-up of pressure underground. The exact cause of the blast was not clear but Mayor Bill de Blasio said there was no work being done on the pipe at the time.
Elsewhere dozens of buildings remained empty and officers put on thick protective gear to enter people’s homes and retrieve medication or animals, ABC reported.
Emergency responders wear masks and hazmat suits as they work around the scene of the steam pipe explosion in New York
Firefighters at the scene after it was confirmed that asbestos was leaked from the steam pipe explosion in Manhattan
People hand in clothes as anyone who was left with debris or dust on them was advised to hand in what they were wearing
One of the decontamination tents set up in the area on July 19. Anyone who fears their clothes have been contaminated is being told to take them to the site
NYPD officers block the roads near the scene of the steam pipe explosion on Fifth Avenue on Thursday morning
Firefighters collect items in bags as they try to minimise exposure to asbestos after its presence was confirmed
Firefighters work around the scene of the steam pipe explosion on Fifth Avenue in New York
An emergency worker in a hazmat suite wades through the filthy water which erupted with the steam
The explosion left a huge crater in the middle of Fifth Avenue between 21st and 22nd street where smoke and steam billowed from the ground and enormous pools of water formed after the blast which occurred at 6.40am on Thursday
The blast early on Thursday morning sent steam billowing over Fifth Avenue and prompted a large emergency response
An overhead view taken by ABC’s chopper after the explosion shows the depth of the hole and the extent of the debris which blanketed the street and surrounding buildings
Over the next few days, 49 buildings will be searched and tested for exposure. Twenty-eight of those are in what is being described as a ‘hot zone’. They will all remain closed for several days while tests are underway.
Anyone who was briefly exposed to the air near the scene is not at a health risk but if they were doused in debris or if their clothing was even lightly touched by dust, they are at risk of repeated exposure.
A Red Cross tent was set up to help people affected at the scene but reportedly had few people visiting.
Some of the buildings in the area are partly residential. Anyone who has been displaced by the explosion may be compensated by energy company Con Edison as will anyone whose clothing was affected.
The drop off for clothes which may be contaminated is 22nd Street and Broadway.
Anyone who was in the vicinity at the time of the explosion must shower, remove the clothing and place it in a bag to be washed. If they feel their clothing was contaminated, it must be dropped off.
Authorities have not yet released a zoning map which shows the affected area.
At a press conference at the site on Thursday afternoon, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said: ‘There was asbestos in the steam line casing.
‘That’s obviously a real concern to us. We’ve confirmed the presence of asbestos.
‘We have also tested the air since the time of the incident. The air cleared fairly quickly and is now safe. There is no meaningful presence of asbestos in the air at this point.’
A worker looks at steam coming from Fifth Avenue after a steam explosion uprooted parts of the street
The crater was still spurting steam, debris and dirty water for more than an hour after the initial blast
The explosion was so powerful it turfed up pieces of the street and sent debris flying all over the street
Stream rises from an exploded pipe on Fifth Avenue on Thursday morning after the explosion at rush hour
Con Edison is now accepting bags of clothing from anyone who feels they may have been exposed
WHAT IS ASBESTOS
WHAT IS IT?
Asbestos is a heat-resistant mineral material which was popular in building and construction until the 1980s.
They contain microscopic fibers which, if they are breathed in, can fester and cause lethal diseases including types of cancer.
Asbestos was commonplace in construction in America and in many other countries until the dangers it posed became plain.
Because it is heat-resistant and can be pulled apart to form a fluffy consistency, it was a popular choice of insulation for cost-conscious builders.
Now, it is banned in dozens of countries across the world but the US is not one of them.
Its use is heavily regulated and the United States Environmental Protection Agency has banned a list of products which are known to contain it.
The banned products are; Corrugated paper, Rollboard, Commercial paper, Specialty paper and flooring felt.
However, many others which contain it are not. Those include; cement corrugated sheet, Cement flat sheet, Clothing, Pipeline wrap, Roofing felt, Vinyl floor tile, Cement shingle, Millboard, Cement pipe, Automatic transmission components, Clutch facings, Friction materials, Disk brake pads, Drum brake linings, Brake blocks, Gaskets, Non-roofing coatings, Roof coatings.
In 1989, the EPA issued the Asbestos Ban and Phase-Out Rule (ABPR), which planned to impose a full ban on the manufacturing, importation, processing and sale of asbestos-containing products.
HEALTH RISKS
Exposure to asbestos has been known to contribute to a range of ailments including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
It is a natural substance which is breathed in in small doses almost by everyone without any health defects.
However, when a large amount is disrupted and becomes airborne, more fibers are inhaled and therefore pose a risk.
After the 9/11 attacks, many were feared to be at risk of developing health defects because of their prolonged exposure to the site which was blanketed in toxic debris.
De Blasio was emphatic as he told people not to worry unless their clothes had been dusted in debris.
The mayor said: ‘Brief exposure to the air is not a problem but if this material is in a building or on clothing, that is a real concern We do not want anything that could cause repeated exposure.
‘Anyone who feels their clothing was contaminated, there is a specific protocol to make sure they remove it, bag it, bring it to a Con Ed site.
‘We want that clothing turned in if there is debris or dust on the clothing. Con Ed will compensate those people in an appropriate fashion.’
Anyone who was evacuated must stay away until they are told definitively that it is safe for them to return.
An FDNY spokesman told DailyMail.com the explosion was a ‘high pressure leak’ but the exact cause of the blast is not yet known.
Con Edison dismissed rumors it may have been caused by construction workers at the site and said there was no work happening at the time of the explosion.
One police officer and three civilians experienced scrapes and cuts as a result of the immediate blast but no other injuries were reported.
Bystanders shared astonishing photographs of plumes of steam rushing down the iconic street as fire fighters worked to get it under control.
The FDNY has set up two decontamination zones where anyone who worries that they may have been affected can go to be hosed down and checked over
A car next to the blast site was showered by dirty water and debris which erupted when the pipe blew
Crowds gathered at the foot of the barricade while fire fighters worked at the scene
FDNY fire fighters hose down the street near the explosion site on Thursday morning
The cloud of smoke and steam formed beneath the Empire State Building and, from some places, made it invisible
An NYPD police officer wears a mask as he patrols the area, stopping members of the public from accessing the zone which may be contaminated
There was an enormous response from fire fighters and police who remained on the scene for hours after the explosion
Crowds gathered behind barricades that police set up as fire fighters tried to get the steam under control
Dirt and steam come spurting out of the crater in front of a Con Edison engineer who watched while breathing from an oxygen tank on his back
Huge chunks of concrete were uprooted by the explosion. They formed a rocky barrier around the smoldering hole afterwards
A bystander films the huge plume of steam in the middle of Fifth Avenue on Thursday morning
Decontamination zones were set up at the site on Thursday. Anyone whose clothing may have been contaminated is being told to hand it in to Con Edison on 22nd Street and Broadway
By noon, the cloud of steam had dissipated and the situation was under control but authorities continued to work at the scene
Witnesses described hearing a ‘crazy loud sound’ when the blast occurred then watching as the steam rose hundreds of feet into the air.
‘There was just this absolute crazy loud sound. It was just really powerful.
‘There are a lot of emergency personnel.
‘Every block has either a fire engine or ambulance around it,’ Adam Bloom, who was on the 30th floor of a nearby building, told local radio station WCBS. He said the smoke was rising higher than where he was.
Brendan Walsh, 22, a senior at New York University, had just gotten off a train and was headed to class when he saw the plume and ‘a large scatter of debris.
‘I was standing behind the police line when a Con Ed worker came rushing over and screaming at police and firefighters to push everyone north because he was worried that there could be secondary manhole explosions.’
‘Everyone – including the police and firefighters who were standing by – started moving back,’ he said.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the state Department of Public Service to conduct a full investigation into the cause of the explosion and whether any ‘utility activities contributed to it.’
Huge clouds of smoke engulfed made surrounding landmarks including The Empire State Building and the Flatiron Building impossible to see.
A police officer with soot on his hands and wearing a protective face masks directs commuters on Thursday morning
MANHATTAN’S UNIQUE STEAM PIPES SYSTEM
Controlled releases of steam happen all over the city every day through these quintessentially New York funnels
The steam pipe network in Manhattan services nearly 2,000 buildings and accounts for 100 miles of underground space. They rush steam to buildings all over the city, providing heat and cooling systems.
To prevent pressure from building to breaking point, white and orange pillars all over the city allow for small, controlled releases of the steam. They are a quintessential New York feature and are rarely overpowered.
The Manhattan steam pipe system is the largest in the world and dates back to the 1880s. They were implemented to replace chimneys and reduce pollution.
Most of the steam is produced at a Con Edison plant on East 14th Street. The plant exploded during Hurricane Sandy, bringing the network to a halt.
In total, there are six plants across the five boroughs which produce the co-generated steam to heat and cool the city.
They are located at East 74th Street on the Upper East Side, East 60th Street at Sutton Place, 59th Street and 11th Avenue in Midtown West, Brooklyn’s Navy Yard and Ravenswood in Queens.
In Manhattan, it runs from the Battery to 96th Street on the West Side and from downtown to 89th Street on the East Side.
It services buildings including Grand Central Terminal, the United Nations and the Empire State Building.
In 2007, a pipe which served Grand Central exploded on 41st street in Midtown. It caused multiple injuries and one death.
A diagram of Manhattan’s steam system which shows how it services the city
The explosion shut down traffic on the busy avenue between 20th and 23rd street and also wreaked havoc on the subway system.
Manhattan’s network of steam pipes is unlike many in the world.
They are easily spotted on ground level by the orange and white pillars which funnel steam from underground into the air in a controlled way and prevent pressure from building to a breaking point.
The network of pipes is more than 100miles long and service nearly 2,000 buildings in the city.
Explosions are unusual and rarely deadly.
In 2007, a man died from a heart attack after a pipe beneath Grand Central Station exploded and sent a 40ft wall of steam and debris in the air on 41st Street and Lexington Avenue in Midtown.
The smoke and steam which rose from the explosion were still visible an hour afterwards
From some angles, the steam shrouded the iconic Empire State Building and cast a dark cloud over the previously bright and clear street