CHELSEA, NY — A four-block stretch of Fifth Avenue has been closed down for several days after asbestos was found following a massive explosion that ruptured a steam pipe in the Flatiron District Thursday, Mayor Bill De Blasio said.
“There was asbestos in the steam line casing, that’s obviously a real concern to us,” said De Blasio at a Thursday news conference near the explosion site at East 21st St. “Our concern is debris that was thrown off by the rupture, that was thrown off on the street and onto building facades. That all needs to be cleaned up.”
De Blasio said that Department of Environmental Protection and Con Edison tests confirmed the toxin was in the scalding steam that shot through the neighborhood at the start of morning rush hour just after 6:30 a.m.
Officials fear the cancer-causing mineral may have drifted into the heating, ventilation and air condition systems of nearby buildings. A total of 49 buildings were evacuated after the roughly 20-inch steam pipe burst, leaving a 15-foot crater, officials said.
“The air cleared fairly quickly after the incident, the air in this area is now safe. There is no meaningful presence of asbestos in the air at this point,” De Blasio said.
“Brief exposure is not a problem through the air, but if this material is in a building, if it’s on clothing, that is a real concern. We do not want anything that might cause repeated exposure.”
Fifth Avenue between 19th and 22nd streets will remain “closed off for several days” as officials wash building facades, cleanup the streets and take a close look at the ventilation and air conditioning systems of nearby buildings.
“Figure we’re going into Saturday or Sunday until the streets reopen based on what we know now, and that could change,” said De Blasio.
Governor Andrew Cuomo deployed state emergency services, health and environmental personnel to survey the scene and ordered the state Department of Public Service look into the cause of the steam pipe explosion.
“As the response continues, I am directing the Department of Public Service to conduct a full investigation into the cause of this explosion and determine whether any utility activities contributed to it,” Cuomo said in a Thursday statement.
“In conjunction with that investigation, the Departments of Environmental Conservation and Labor are standing by to assist in asbestos testing, assessment and with the disposal of contaminated material.”
Three civilians, a police officer and a Con Edison worker suffered minor injuries during the blast. Smoke continued to sputter from the ground several hours into the emergency response, which involved more than 130 firefighters and 33 firetrucks.
Chelsea resident Michael Reiff, 64, called 911 after he saw “a massive, dark plume” spewing into the sky while walking his dog Bella on Fifth Avenue just after 6:30 a.m. Upon returning to his West 17th Street home off of Fifth Avenue, he discovered “thick layers of soot” on his 11th floor skylight that took him nearly an hour to scrub off, he said.
“Just putting water on it wouldn’t wash it away, I had to get soap and water and really scrub the skylight,” said Reiff, who is a retired human resources worker. “It was just covered with this brown soot, I had no idea what it was.”
Fire officials set up two decontamination stations on Fifth Avenue at 22nd and 19th streets for those who came into contact with the steam, an FDNY spokeswoman said.
Evacuated building tenants who need help retrieving important items from their homes or offices, such as medication or pets, should contact fire department officials. Anyone who came into contact with the steam should bring their clothing to a Con Edison processing center on Broadway at 22nd Street.
Emergency management officials opened a reception center for those who can’t access their homes at The Clinton School at 10 East 15th Street.
This is a developing story, refresh this page for updates.
Lead photos used with permission of Patrick Keenan/Veronica Ramirez