NEW YORK (AP) -- The day after a deadly steam pipe explosion in midtown Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg sought to assure worried residents and workers on Thursday that the air was safe to breathe.
1010 WINS SLIDESHOW: Images from the Scene "Every single test we did of the air showed there is no asbestos in the air,'' he said at a news conference.
1010 WINS AUDIO: Mayor's Briefing on Air, Explosion
All 12 air sample tests came back negative, he said. There also were 71 pieces of debris sampled, and of those, results from 56 were available. Bloomberg said 14 tested positive for asbestos, but most had only trace amounts. OEM officials said any exposures to asbestos would have been brief and the health risks limited. "Developing an asbestos-related illness after being exposed for a short time -- even at high levels -- is very unlikely,'' the  agency said. The cause of the rupture remained under investigation. Officials said the pipe, installed in 1924, might have exploded under extreme pressure caused by an infiltration of cold rainwater, or might have been damaged by a water main break. The blast during Wednesday evening's rush hour gouged a yawning crater at the busy intersection of 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, killing a New Jersey woman, injuring 41 others, snarling traffic and sending geysers of steam and dirt into the air.
Do You Have a Go Bag? Streets remained blocked off around the blast site. People trying to get to work near the explosion site had to weave around utility trucks, generators, metal barricades, police tape and emergency vehicles. Some people had their faces covered with masks. Clumps of office workers, cell phones and BlackBerries in hand, huddled on street corners, waiting for word about whether their offices would open. Some businesses were prepared. A group from Cash Zone, a check-cashing business with an office on Park Avenue, met in front of a nearby church as part of a longstanding emergency plan. As employees arrived, managers made plans to send them to other branches. Rich Ortiz, 51, a collection manager at branch, was philosophical. "It's no biggie. We're not talking about 9/11,'' he said. But in an echo of 9/11 -- when the federal government rushed to reassure people that the air around ground zero was safe to breathe -- the blast raised concerns about airborne asbestos contamination. Some of the pipes carrying steam through the city are wrapped in the chemical commonly used until the mid-1970s in insulation and fireproofing material. Its tiny fibers can cause cancer and other serious diseases when inhaled over many years.
NYC.gov: Midtown Steam Pipe Explosion Information Officials took eight air samples Wednesday night, and none came back positive for asbestos, the emergency-management agency said. But asbestos was found in six of 10 samples of debris and settled dust. Residents who were already in the area were allowed to stay, but the city told them to keep windows closed and air conditioners set to recirculate indoor air instead of drawing it from outside. The OEM set up a tent and van a few blocks from the blast site, where officials told people with contaminated clothes to rinse them in a bucket of water and then machine-wash them. Nearby, Con Ed was collecting clothes and items exposed to debris and planned to destroy them. Con Ed asks anyone who was in that area around 6 p.m. who has dust or debris on clothing or belongings should put them in a plastic bag and bring it to the Con Edison customer service van parked at the corner of Madison Avenue and 42nd Street. The van will be at that location for the next several days from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Con Edison will arrange for the safe disposal of these items. Customer care personnel will be available to help people fill out a reimbursement request. The conflicting advice created some confusion. "I understand asbestos -- it's dangerous,'' said Stefanie Gordon, 30, of Hoboken, N.J., who was in the neighborhood Wednesday when the pipe exploded. "But it's just the conflicting messages. Con Ed and OEM should get their story straight.'' The woman killed in the blast was identified as Lois Baumerich, 51, of Hawthorne, N.J. She worked in the legal department at Pfizer Inc., about a block from the company's corporate headquarters and very close to the explosion site. Company spokesman Bryant Haskins said she was believed to be outside her office building when she began having chest pains after the explosion. Forty-one other people were taken to area hospitals. Three remained hospitalized, with one in critical condition. The others were treated and released.
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