Midtown Steam Pipe Explosion:
Mayor Deems It a "Failure of City's Infrastructure"

During the Wednesday-night rush hour, a steam pipe at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue exploded, sending steam, mud, and pieces of the street hundreds of feet into the air. One person died and at least 20 people were injured.

Initially, many people's first reactions were that it was a terrorist attack, what with the loud, thunder-like rumbling that shook buildings and the cloud of smoke and steam. People ran from the area of the explosion, evacuating their buildings and Grand Central Terminal in a rush. But about a half hour after the explosion (the first 911 call was reported at 5:57PM), NYPD confirmed that it was not a terrorist attack. Many people likened it to a volcano.

During a press conference last night, Mayor Bloomberg explained that the 24" pipe that had been installed back in 1924 and that it may have exploded because it came into contact with cold water. He also took time to praise New Yorkers, saying, "We couldn’t be prouder of our New Yorkers. The people that should respond knew exactly what to do and how to cooperate and work together, and the person in the street understood that we’re all here together and they knew not to panic. They rushed around, helped each other. It's what you would expect; it’s inspirational to all of us."

Asbestos, a known carcinogen, was a concern of city officials, but tests have come back showing no asbestos in the air, though some is present in the debris. Regular visitors to the area are familiar with steam vents and Con Ed workers along Lexington Avenue - here's a photograph of one of those steam pipes. It's unclear what the exact cause is so far, but we're sure we'll find out once the investigation is completed.

The City has created a "frozen zone" - 40th Street to 43rd Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and Third Avenue - and will not allow people to enter the zone (though people already in the zone may leave): "As clean-up work progresses, the city will work to shrink the size of the frozen zone." And the city urges people not to visit the zone.

A crater about 15 feet by 25 feet in size was left after the explosion. The truck's driver is in a medically induced coma, with burns to 80% of his body. The school bus seen in the photographs belonged to Pierce Country Day Camp of Roslyn, L.I. - the Daily News reports "but luckily, the kids had been dropped off minutes earlier." The one fatality seems to be a woman who had a heart condition.

Subways, which were diverted last night, are running normally, with the exception of 4/5/6 and 7 service bypassing Grand Central and the S line being suspended. Buses with routes near the frozen zone are also affected. (Check MTA alerts here.)

The NY Times has an article on "Asbestos and Aging Pipes Remain Buried Hazards". One of our readers pointed out this was reminiscent of another deadly steam pipe explosion in Gramercy Park back in 1989.

Photograph at top by ~Raymond on Flickr; photograph at bottom of emergency responders inspecting the crater - and the red tow truck inside it - by Seth Wenig/AP

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on July 19, 2007 9:53 AM

Comments [rss]

guest

Hey Jen,

Great post, tragic that NY was the victim again. Everyone is saying the age of the pipes is to blame, but not necessarily the case. America indeed has old, and sometimes deteriorating infrastructure, but it can be treated to last as long as the Roman ruins.

Check out some of our thoughts on www.matcor.blogspot.com. We have an expert in infrastructure and corroding pipes/structures who has seen this stuff all over the world.

Thanks,

Mike

Reality Czech

oh come on, is anyone surprised? Things are getting worse in this city, not better, the infrastructure is falling apart. NYC is a 20th century city, the 21st has begun and NYC will be left behind. So pay up or shut up.

guest

you're right again, mihow.

we should all pray (for those who pray) for this man.

mihow

My dear god, has anyone ever had a steam burn before? It's horrible, and dare I say more painful than other types of burns. I can't believe that the driver of that truck has 80 percent of his body burned by (I'm assuming) steam. That has to be absolutely unbearable, the poor, poor man.

I shudder to think. It's no wonder they put him in a medically induced coma. Tragic.

ed_Extinct

sewage pipes are very far down in the ground, below water pipes. if a sewage pipe burst, it's unlikely the street level would ever know.

guest

ConEd is negligient.

joeBoy

TKaisen, you seem to be a con-ed employee, or a wooden-headed dolt; Possibly both.

While it may be true that "not every accident is preventable", this one clearly was, as was the blackout of last summer ... the reason that we are living over a system that was "built before all of us were born" is because CON-ED is not doing it's job, which is to maintain the energy delivery infrastrucuture of this city. It's not reasonable to expect that there will be minor mishaps throughout the city on an ongoing basis, but it is entirely within reasonable expectations that CON-ED will not neglect to replace high-pressure steam piping before it becomes a CENTURY old. And no, this would not have happened if they had either replaced the pipe, reinforced it, or re-routed the steam to a newer more reliable pipe -- and it is con-ed's JOB to do that.

In retrospect, I doubt you're a con-ed employee, con-ed is far too arrogant to stoop to astroturf pr, I sincerely doubt they give a shit.

Gwinny

I'm just glad it was a steam pipe and not a sewage pipe - otherwise we would've had a veritable shitstorm.

I survived Pipe Explosion 2007!!!!1 w00t

guest

If you don't see then you're the problem.

karma will kum bak. it always does.

Smith and wesson is not the great equalizer but Karma is.

asbestos poisoning is not a good way to die. You're dead before the suit goes to trial.

guest

#32-Steam is a by-product of Con-Ed's electricity generation at the plants. The excess steam is carried throughout the city in pipes. The steam is used in the winter to provide heat to buildings and in the summer the steam helps to power many AC units and used by a number of other industries. It is also used in that stupid clock scuplture in Union Square.

ed_Extinct

It's funny 2c how many of you are so clueless. Very funny.

TKaisen

The "shit Happens" excuse is why America and Americans are hated. No other country or culture has that phrase but selfish Americans.

You're an idiot. This doesn't even make sense.

Outter Burrougher: Not to be shrill or an alarmist, but a woman is dead, and ConEd has a history (read: Queens blackout last summer) of having infrastructure problems that are caused by a lack of proper maintenance.

Because you can't prevent everything. It's really that simple. We're living on a system built before all of us were born. It's going to fail from time to time.

As much as the city and state government would like you to believe otherwise, you can't regulate accidents. If you want an investigation, fine... there should be one and they should do what they can to prevent this stuff from happening. But people who want to turn it into a political thing are idiots... sorry. This would have happened regardless of who was in office.

msl422004

According to the MTA website, 4,5,6,7 and S service are all now stopping at Grand Central.

Does anybody know if it's on time or delayed?

guest

Did some call 911 and report this? How about OEM?

guest

Does anyone here know what steampipes do, specifically?

guest

When I find a hidden viking treasure hoard, I'll donate half of the money I get for it to Con-ed..

JMH

[16] wrote:
Let's not rule out the possibility of a terrorist attack until all the facts come in. I mean think about it, doesn't Al Qaeda want you to think it was Con Ed.
No, generally speaking terrorists want you to know it was them.

Danielle Sucher

At least as of about 10:30am, Lexington was completely blocked off from 38th to 45th.

guest

Geez, a hundred year old pipe, you would think they would of used the rate increases to see if that pipe is still in good operating condition.

Do you let your brake fluid get low, hell you don't even let your coolant get low. I see drivers with their jugs of anti-freeze in their trunk.

shit happens? yeah, right.

guest

What 23 and 25 said. Con Ed, the MTA and the NYC government cannot afford to be so lackadaisical about maintaining this city's infrastructure. It's amazing that more people weren't injured or killed. NYC taxes are among the highest in the country and this is what are we getting? Explosions and crappy F service.