Con Edison Confirms Asbestos In 41st Street Blast Debris; No Airborne Asbestos Found

7/19/2007 2:09:11 PM Thursday, utility services provider, Consolidated Edison, Inc. (ED) and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection said subsequent to the steam-main rupture at Lexington Avenue and 41st Street Wednesday evening, no airborne asbestos were found following air-quality tests. However, a communiqué by the company said numerous samples of muddy debris collected from the area were found to be asbestos contaminated. The blast, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is attributed to a 24-inch steam pipe built in 1924, possibly due to cold water from rain earlier in the day that may have made contact with the hot steam pipe or unknown water main break.

The New York based Consolidated Edison said several of its specially trained employees and certified contractors in coordination with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection or DEP were involved in testing the muddy debris and monitoring the air. Together with the DEP, the company said a comprehensive plan was devised to remove muddy debris from buildings, streets and vehicles.

At about 6 p.m. Wednesday evening, the steam-pipe ruptured a block from Grand Central shocking Manhattan at rush hour, spewing debris and dust up, sending panicky people fleeing for safety. It was also reported the blast involved an underground electric transformer that shook nearby buildings with tremendous power. The incident left one person dead while 16 others were injured with at least two of them indicated to be in critical condition. An estimated 170 firefighters were at the site of explosion to tackle the situation. Authorities also made efforts at evacuating people in the area in case hazardous materials were being emitted.

A similar steam-pipe rupture occurred in 1989 around Manhattan's Gramercy Park that killed three people, sending huge amounts of mud and debris into the air. Another steam pipe explosion in 2000, close to Bobst Library of New York University on Washington Square, left a 15-foot crater into the street on Washington Square South that had similarly spewed debris and traces of asbestos into the air. Manhattan is indicated to have the largest district steam system in the world.

In the aftermath of the explosion, the 41st Street was marked with a huge crater indicated at about 25 feet in diameter with a tow truck in the center. For a block around the blast site, the scene was indicated with bricks, glass, asphalt and dirt covered cars and bicycles with debris and high-heeled shoes, flip-flops strewn across the sidewalk. Most of the injured were covered in brown wet dust and treated for minor injuries at the scene, and abandoned.

Firefighters are believed to have conducted checks on basements around the blast site and city Buildings Department engineers inspecting at least four nearby structures, finding water in basements. Six nearby buildings sustained minor damage to windows on lower levels.

Con Edison said its crew cleaned muddy debris from Third Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets and efforts were underway to restore service to electric feeder cables, and is running temporary cables. The gas system was also excavated and inspected by its personnel for possible damage, while Fire trucks involved at the site were decontaminated.

ED is gaining $0.02 or 0.4% and currently trades at $45.74, on a volume of 1.64 million shares on the NYSE.