2007 New York City steam explosion
Encyclopedia
The July 18, 2007 New York City steam explosion sent a geyser of hot steam up from beneath a busy intersection, with a 40-story-high shower of mud and flying debris raining down on the crowded streets of Midtown Manhattan
in New York City
, New York
, United States
.
It was caused by the failure of a Consolidated Edison
24-inch underground steam pipe
installed in 1924,
at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, near Grand Central Terminal
, just before 6 p.m. local time,
near the peak of the evening rush hour
. The towering cloud of billowing steam
, higher than the nearby 1047 feet (319.1 m)-tall Chrysler Building
, persisted for at least two hours,
leaving a crater about 35 feet (10 m) wide and 15 feet (4 m) deep.
The escaping steam shook nearby office buildings, causing many occupants to immediately evacuate. A 51-year-old New Jersey
woman,
who worked a block from the site, died of a heart attack suffered while fleeing the disaster area. 45 people were injured,
with two injured critically.
The most seriously injured victims were a 23-year-old tow truck
driver from Brooklyn, who was scalded over 80 percent of his body by the 400 °F (204.4 °C) steam and had to be put in a medically-induced coma, and his passenger, a 30-year-old mother of two, who was being driven back to Brooklyn after her car broke down.
A witness reported that the tow truck was lifted 12 feet (4 m) by the escaping steam, higher than a nearby city bus.
Initial fears that the cause was terrorist related were quickly allayed by statements by mayor Michael Bloomberg
and other officials shortly after the event.
, a known human carcinogen
, and the site was declared an "asbestos containment area."
Although some asbestos was later found in the solid debris, no friable particles were detected in any of the air samples. However, anyone entering the containment zone was still required to wear a respirator
and protective clothing during the clean-up. This caused some to openly question the air test results, particularly since false reassurances on air quality were given by officials after the September 11th, 2001 attacks.
More than 100 people evacuated by rescue workers, and the workers themselves, were hosed down, and had their clothes taken for testing at a decontamination area. People in the affected area who self-evacuated were initially advised to dispose of, or wash their contaminated clothing separately, then were later told to place the items in a plastic bag and turn them in to the utility for disposal and reimbursement.
initially sounded a second alarm, then rapidly ratcheted the event up to a five-alarm response, sending more than 200 firefighters from 40 units, three of whom sustained injuries, along with one police officer reported injured. A total of more than 500 New York City police officers and firefighters responded to the event.
Con Edison characterized this as an "all hands event" doubling over shifts to dispatch all available utility workers. The steam leak was not immediately stopped to avoid the possibility of creating another rupture. Once the site was secured, the fire department sounded a sixth alarm for relief.
The New York City Police Department
established a "frozen zone" by cordoning off a several block radius around the site, from 40th to 43rd Streets between Vanderbilt
and Third
avenues, restricting pedestrian access.
This prevented residents from returning to their homes that evening, and kept thousands of workers from their offices the following day, but people already in the area were not forced to evacuate. The police also initially closed several streets to vehicular traffic in a wider area.
Engineers were unable to access the crater to assess the damage until the tow truck was removed on July 22, and the on-site investigation was complicated by the asbestos contamination in the crater.
Steam hammer was suggested as a possible cause. It is a phenomenon that can occur when cold water comes in contact with a hot steam pipe, causing the steam inside to condense into liquid water
, resulting in multi-phase flow which can damage piping. Runoff from the heavy rain that day, or possibly a water main break, have been suggested as possible triggers. There was a broken water main at the bottom of the crater, near the broken steam pipe, but it is not known if this was a cause, or an effect. The utility initially reported that instrument readings did not indicate any pressure buildup prior to the explosion. They subsequently revised this assessment saying the ruptured pipe "experienced a sudden internal over-pressurization, due to water hammer, at least five times greater than normal.".
Cold water impinging on the cast iron
pipe may have also put excess stress
on the metal causing it to fail. The age of the pipe, and the difficulty of inspecting underground infrastructure, made corrosion
a possible factor as well, but a New York
State safety official reported at a Public Service Commission meeting in September 2007 that there was "no indication that the pipe was deteriorated or weakened by corrosion."
There had been persistent steam leaks and related repair activity in the area the weeks and months prior to the explosion, and utility crews had checked the site only six hours before. Preliminary investigation results showed that a leaking seam repaired just before the disaster was found intact, and the pipe burst suddenly at a location approximately 10 feet (3 m) away.
Robert Caligiuri, an engineer for Exponent Engineering, blamed the rupture on a "crack-like flaw" in a welded seam in the pipe wall, in a preliminary engineering report released on October 23, 2007 that was commissioned by attorneys representing the tow truck driver badly burned in the explosion. He stated, "The observed crack-like flaw appears to be old and is large enough that, in my opinion, Con Ed should have detected it prior to the rupture. Once detected, good and accepted practices would have required that this pipe section be immediately replaced." The utility called the report "misguided" and said in a statement that, "our independent consulting engineers have determined that there was no degradation in the condition of the pipe prior to the rupture," and "the weld in this instance in no way contributed to the rupture. The weld was forced open when the rupture occurred; it was not the cause of the rupture."
The official report released by the utility company on December 27, 2007 cited a combination of these factors, accepting responsibility for deficient repair work done by a contractor that ultimately led to the rupture. The report said that excess sealant, previously used to repair a leaking joint, migrated to two steam trap
valves used to drain excess condensed water, clogging them. Then when heavy rains on the day of the event cooled the pipe causing excess condensate to collect in the steam pipe, the valves could not remove it. As a precaution, the utility replaced more than 1600 similar valves throughout the system, but did not find any other clogs.
Bus and subway
service were also affected. The 42nd Street Shuttle and IRT Lexington Avenue Line
and train service had to be suspended in Manhattan, and the train was rerouted via the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line, but the subway infrastructure was not damaged. Subway service was restored overnight, before the next morning's rush hour, with all trains initially bypassing the Grand Central – 42nd Street stop. Grand Central Terminal
was also at least partially evacuated in the immediate aftermath, and entrances facing the affected area were closed, but Metro-North Railroad
commuter train service was not significantly disrupted. By the following evening's rush hour, the Vanderbilt Avenue entrance to Grand Central Terminal was reopened and Third Avenue was reopened to all traffic as well.
Officials estimated that repairs and cleanup would take at least a week, but as of July 21, no definitive timetable had been announced. An extended environmental clean-up would have significant adverse transportation and economic impact, because the site is in one of the busiest sections of the city, and one of the most expensive commercial districts in the U.S. More than 700,000 commuters pass through nearby Grand Central each work day.
Businesses in the frozen zone have been severely impacted, with financial loss estimates as high as 30 million U.S. Dollars, which could reach into the hundreds of millions if the clean-up goes beyond one week. By July 21, 2007, the frozen zone had shrunk to the four blocks from 40th to 42nd Street from Park to 3rd Avenue.
In a twist labeled as ironic by a city lawmaker, a law firm that has Con Edison among its lobbying
clients was one of many businesses whose offices were inaccessible due to the frozen zones. Con Edison has offered to reimburse businesses for direct costs of damage and clean-up, but not for business interruption costs, such as lost productivity and revenue.
A Brooklyn woman was the first to file a lawsuit against the utility, claiming she was traumatized
by the blast, which reminded her of her sister's death in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The family of the tow truck driver also announced their lawsuit against Con Edison on July 30.
member Daniel Garodnick
announced City Hall hearings on the explosion were set for August 7. The city council also held hearings after the 2006 Queens blackout
where Con Edison C.E.O. Kevin Burke was subjected to a grueling round of questioning by local lawmakers. The New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other city lawmakers said they intended to ask tough questions of the utilility at the hearings, and would be reevaluating Con Edison's monopoly status, indicating that they have lost confidence in the utility company.
At the hearing, Burke did not show, and sent William Longhi, his senior vice president for central operations to testify instead, angering the council. Longhi provided little additional information pending completion of the investigation, sparking a heated exchange with Quinn. Councilman Leroy Comrie
, the chairman of the Consumer Affairs Committee, proposed taking over Con Edison, or breaking it up and deregulating it.
New York State Assembly
man Michael N. Gianaris
, a Democrat whose district in the Astoria
section of Queens
was affected by the 2006 blackout, said Con Edison should be forced to compete for the right to manage the city's power infrastructure and should be subject to annual audits by the New York Public Service Commission
.
On December 27, 2007, in response to the report by the utility, New York City Councilman Eric Gioia
criticized the company for identifying the city as potentially responsible for the blast in an October court filing laying the groundwork for a possible future lawsuit. That notice of claim said city sewers, pipes and drains could have leaked cold water onto the hot steam pipe. Gioa's statement said, "they'll do anything they can to deflect blame and avoid taking responsibility, but now this report shows that Con Ed's poor maintenance contributed to this deadly explosion."
In Boston, Massachusetts
, which has a 22 miles (35.4 km) network of steam distribution pipes operated by Trigen Energy Boston, Mayor Thomas Menino
used the event in New York to push for proposed state legislation regulating commercial steam distribution systems that was progressing slowly. A young boy was severely burned two months earlier by a burst steam pipe in that city.
In Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
, which has a network of more than 30 miles (48.3 km) of steam pipes operated by Trigen-Philadelphia, there has not been a serious incident in that city in the past 18 years—in 1989, a steam explosion at 15th and Wood Streets sent debris into the air damaging some cars. In the wake of the New York event, present and past city officials credited the utility for the extended period of safe operations.
in 1989, killing two Con Edison workers and one bystander, and causing damage of several million U.S. dollars. The utility eventually pleaded guilty to lying about asbestos contamination from that accident, and paid a $2 million fine.
A steam pipe explosion at Washington Square
in 2000 near the New York University
Bobst Library left a 15 foot (4.5 m) crater in the pavement on Washington Square South, scattering debris and leaving traces of asbestos in the air.
The New York Steam Company began providing service in lower Manhattan
in 1882. Today, Con Edison operates the New York City steam system
, the largest commercial steam system
in the world, with more than 100 miles (160.9 km) of steam pipe. It provides steam service to nearly 2,000 customers serving more than 100,000 commercial and residential establishments in Manhattan south of 96th Street
. The utility reported that in 2007, the average age of the steam pipes was 54 years, but some were near 100 years old.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
It was caused by the failure of a Consolidated Edison
Consolidated Edison
Consolidated Edison, Inc. is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $14 billion in annual revenues and $36 billion in assets...
24-inch underground steam pipe
District heating
District heating is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating...
installed in 1924,
at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, near Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
, just before 6 p.m. local time,
near the peak of the evening rush hour
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
. The towering cloud of billowing steam
Steam
Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
, higher than the nearby 1047 feet (319.1 m)-tall Chrysler Building
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
, persisted for at least two hours,
leaving a crater about 35 feet (10 m) wide and 15 feet (4 m) deep.
The escaping steam shook nearby office buildings, causing many occupants to immediately evacuate. A 51-year-old New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
woman,
who worked a block from the site, died of a heart attack suffered while fleeing the disaster area. 45 people were injured,
with two injured critically.
The most seriously injured victims were a 23-year-old tow truck
Tow truck
A tow truck is a vehicle used to transport motor vehicles to another location , or to recover vehicles which are no longer on a drivable surface.Towing services are generally provided by an emergency road service operator...
driver from Brooklyn, who was scalded over 80 percent of his body by the 400 °F (204.4 °C) steam and had to be put in a medically-induced coma, and his passenger, a 30-year-old mother of two, who was being driven back to Brooklyn after her car broke down.
A witness reported that the tow truck was lifted 12 feet (4 m) by the escaping steam, higher than a nearby city bus.
Initial fears that the cause was terrorist related were quickly allayed by statements by mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
and other officials shortly after the event.
Asbestos
Pipes of that age often were wrapped in asbestosAsbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
, a known human carcinogen
Carcinogen
A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer. This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes...
, and the site was declared an "asbestos containment area."
Although some asbestos was later found in the solid debris, no friable particles were detected in any of the air samples. However, anyone entering the containment zone was still required to wear a respirator
Respirator
A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling harmful dusts, fumes, vapors, or gases. Respirators come in a wide range of types and sizes used by the military, private industry, and the public...
and protective clothing during the clean-up. This caused some to openly question the air test results, particularly since false reassurances on air quality were given by officials after the September 11th, 2001 attacks.
More than 100 people evacuated by rescue workers, and the workers themselves, were hosed down, and had their clothes taken for testing at a decontamination area. People in the affected area who self-evacuated were initially advised to dispose of, or wash their contaminated clothing separately, then were later told to place the items in a plastic bag and turn them in to the utility for disposal and reimbursement.
Emergency response
The New York City Fire DepartmentNew York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department or the Fire Department of the City of New York has the responsibility for protecting the citizens and property of New York City's five boroughs from fires and fire hazards, providing emergency medical services, technical rescue as well as providing first response...
initially sounded a second alarm, then rapidly ratcheted the event up to a five-alarm response, sending more than 200 firefighters from 40 units, three of whom sustained injuries, along with one police officer reported injured. A total of more than 500 New York City police officers and firefighters responded to the event.
Con Edison characterized this as an "all hands event" doubling over shifts to dispatch all available utility workers. The steam leak was not immediately stopped to avoid the possibility of creating another rupture. Once the site was secured, the fire department sounded a sixth alarm for relief.
The New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
established a "frozen zone" by cordoning off a several block radius around the site, from 40th to 43rd Streets between Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt Avenue (Manhattan)
Vanderbilt Avenue is a short road in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs from 42nd Street to 47th Street, between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue. The road was created in the late 1860s as the result of construction of Grand Central Depot, and is named for Cornelius Vanderbilt, the...
and Third
Third Avenue (Manhattan)
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Cooper Square north for over 120 blocks. Third Avenue continues into The Bronx across the Harlem River over the Third Avenue Bridge north of East 129th Street to East Fordham Road at...
avenues, restricting pedestrian access.
This prevented residents from returning to their homes that evening, and kept thousands of workers from their offices the following day, but people already in the area were not forced to evacuate. The police also initially closed several streets to vehicular traffic in a wider area.
Cause
As of August 2007, the cause of the disaster remained under investigation, and the investigation was expected to last three months.Engineers were unable to access the crater to assess the damage until the tow truck was removed on July 22, and the on-site investigation was complicated by the asbestos contamination in the crater.
Steam hammer was suggested as a possible cause. It is a phenomenon that can occur when cold water comes in contact with a hot steam pipe, causing the steam inside to condense into liquid water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, resulting in multi-phase flow which can damage piping. Runoff from the heavy rain that day, or possibly a water main break, have been suggested as possible triggers. There was a broken water main at the bottom of the crater, near the broken steam pipe, but it is not known if this was a cause, or an effect. The utility initially reported that instrument readings did not indicate any pressure buildup prior to the explosion. They subsequently revised this assessment saying the ruptured pipe "experienced a sudden internal over-pressurization, due to water hammer, at least five times greater than normal.".
Cold water impinging on the cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
pipe may have also put excess stress
Stress (physics)
In continuum mechanics, stress is a measure of the internal forces acting within a deformable body. Quantitatively, it is a measure of the average force per unit area of a surface within the body on which internal forces act. These internal forces are a reaction to external forces applied on the body...
on the metal causing it to fail. The age of the pipe, and the difficulty of inspecting underground infrastructure, made corrosion
Corrosion
Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
a possible factor as well, but a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
State safety official reported at a Public Service Commission meeting in September 2007 that there was "no indication that the pipe was deteriorated or weakened by corrosion."
There had been persistent steam leaks and related repair activity in the area the weeks and months prior to the explosion, and utility crews had checked the site only six hours before. Preliminary investigation results showed that a leaking seam repaired just before the disaster was found intact, and the pipe burst suddenly at a location approximately 10 feet (3 m) away.
Robert Caligiuri, an engineer for Exponent Engineering, blamed the rupture on a "crack-like flaw" in a welded seam in the pipe wall, in a preliminary engineering report released on October 23, 2007 that was commissioned by attorneys representing the tow truck driver badly burned in the explosion. He stated, "The observed crack-like flaw appears to be old and is large enough that, in my opinion, Con Ed should have detected it prior to the rupture. Once detected, good and accepted practices would have required that this pipe section be immediately replaced." The utility called the report "misguided" and said in a statement that, "our independent consulting engineers have determined that there was no degradation in the condition of the pipe prior to the rupture," and "the weld in this instance in no way contributed to the rupture. The weld was forced open when the rupture occurred; it was not the cause of the rupture."
The official report released by the utility company on December 27, 2007 cited a combination of these factors, accepting responsibility for deficient repair work done by a contractor that ultimately led to the rupture. The report said that excess sealant, previously used to repair a leaking joint, migrated to two steam trap
Steam trap
A steam trap is a device used to discharge condensate and non condensable gases with a negligible consumption or loss of live steam.Most steam traps are nothing more than automatic valves. They open, close or modulate automatically...
valves used to drain excess condensed water, clogging them. Then when heavy rains on the day of the event cooled the pipe causing excess condensate to collect in the steam pipe, the valves could not remove it. As a precaution, the utility replaced more than 1600 similar valves throughout the system, but did not find any other clogs.
Effects
In addition to steam service disruption to 15-20 buildings, telephone service and Internet connectivity were disrupted in the area. Although an underground electrical transformer and feeder cables were also damaged, there were no significant power outages reported, but customers in the affected area were asked to reduce demand. Cellular telephone service was overloaded in the immediate aftermath, and blocked calls were reported as many people in the area tried to make calls at the same time.Bus and subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
service were also affected. The 42nd Street Shuttle and IRT Lexington Avenue Line
IRT Lexington Avenue Line
The Lexington Avenue Line is one of the lines of the IRT division of the New York City Subway, stretching from Downtown Brooklyn or Lower Manhattan north to 125th Street in East Harlem. The portion in Lower and Midtown Manhattan was part of the first subway line in New York...
and train service had to be suspended in Manhattan, and the train was rerouted via the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line, but the subway infrastructure was not damaged. Subway service was restored overnight, before the next morning's rush hour, with all trains initially bypassing the Grand Central – 42nd Street stop. Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
was also at least partially evacuated in the immediate aftermath, and entrances facing the affected area were closed, but Metro-North Railroad
Metro-North Railroad
The Metro-North Commuter Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, or, more commonly, Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service that is run and managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , an authority of New York State. It is the busiest commuter railroad in the United...
commuter train service was not significantly disrupted. By the following evening's rush hour, the Vanderbilt Avenue entrance to Grand Central Terminal was reopened and Third Avenue was reopened to all traffic as well.
Officials estimated that repairs and cleanup would take at least a week, but as of July 21, no definitive timetable had been announced. An extended environmental clean-up would have significant adverse transportation and economic impact, because the site is in one of the busiest sections of the city, and one of the most expensive commercial districts in the U.S. More than 700,000 commuters pass through nearby Grand Central each work day.
Businesses in the frozen zone have been severely impacted, with financial loss estimates as high as 30 million U.S. Dollars, which could reach into the hundreds of millions if the clean-up goes beyond one week. By July 21, 2007, the frozen zone had shrunk to the four blocks from 40th to 42nd Street from Park to 3rd Avenue.
In a twist labeled as ironic by a city lawmaker, a law firm that has Con Edison among its lobbying
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
clients was one of many businesses whose offices were inaccessible due to the frozen zones. Con Edison has offered to reimburse businesses for direct costs of damage and clean-up, but not for business interruption costs, such as lost productivity and revenue.
A Brooklyn woman was the first to file a lawsuit against the utility, claiming she was traumatized
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
by the blast, which reminded her of her sister's death in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The family of the tow truck driver also announced their lawsuit against Con Edison on July 30.
Political aftermath
New York City CouncilNew York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
member Daniel Garodnick
Daniel Garodnick
Daniel R. "Dan" Garodnick is a New York City Councilman representing Manhattan’s 4th District since 2006.-Biography:Prior to running for elected office, Garodnick was a litigation associate at the New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison...
announced City Hall hearings on the explosion were set for August 7. The city council also held hearings after the 2006 Queens blackout
2006 Queens blackout
The 2006 Queens blackout was an unresolved series of power outages that affected the northwest section of the New York City borough Queens in July 2006. The blackout primarily affected the neighborhoods of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, and Woodside...
where Con Edison C.E.O. Kevin Burke was subjected to a grueling round of questioning by local lawmakers. The New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other city lawmakers said they intended to ask tough questions of the utilility at the hearings, and would be reevaluating Con Edison's monopoly status, indicating that they have lost confidence in the utility company.
At the hearing, Burke did not show, and sent William Longhi, his senior vice president for central operations to testify instead, angering the council. Longhi provided little additional information pending completion of the investigation, sparking a heated exchange with Quinn. Councilman Leroy Comrie
Leroy Comrie
Leroy Comrie represents the New York City Council District 27, which comprises St. Albans, Cambria Heights, Jamaica, Hollis, Rosedale, and other neighborhoods within the borough of Queens....
, the chairman of the Consumer Affairs Committee, proposed taking over Con Edison, or breaking it up and deregulating it.
New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
man Michael N. Gianaris
Michael N. Gianaris
Senator Michael Gianaris was elected to the State Senate in 2010 with over 81% of the vote after a decade of dedicated public service in the State Assembly...
, a Democrat whose district in the Astoria
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...
section of Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
was affected by the 2006 blackout, said Con Edison should be forced to compete for the right to manage the city's power infrastructure and should be subject to annual audits by the New York Public Service Commission
New York Public Service Commission
The New York Public Service Commission is a government agency that regulates the various utilities of the state of New York. The commission also oversees the cable industry.The commission consists of up to five members, led by a commissioner...
.
On December 27, 2007, in response to the report by the utility, New York City Councilman Eric Gioia
Eric Gioia
Eric N. Gioia is a New York City politician of the Democratic Party. He served for eight years as a member of the New York City Council...
criticized the company for identifying the city as potentially responsible for the blast in an October court filing laying the groundwork for a possible future lawsuit. That notice of claim said city sewers, pipes and drains could have leaked cold water onto the hot steam pipe. Gioa's statement said, "they'll do anything they can to deflect blame and avoid taking responsibility, but now this report shows that Con Ed's poor maintenance contributed to this deadly explosion."
In Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, which has a 22 miles (35.4 km) network of steam distribution pipes operated by Trigen Energy Boston, Mayor Thomas Menino
Thomas Menino
Thomas Michael "Tom" Menino is the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, United States and the city's first Italian-American mayor...
used the event in New York to push for proposed state legislation regulating commercial steam distribution systems that was progressing slowly. A young boy was severely burned two months earlier by a burst steam pipe in that city.
In Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, which has a network of more than 30 miles (48.3 km) of steam pipes operated by Trigen-Philadelphia, there has not been a serious incident in that city in the past 18 years—in 1989, a steam explosion at 15th and Wood Streets sent debris into the air damaging some cars. In the wake of the New York event, present and past city officials credited the utility for the extended period of safe operations.
History
More than 12 similar Con Edison steam pipe explosions have occurred in New York City since 1987. One of the most significant events occurred near Gramercy ParkGramercy Park
Gramercy Park is a small, fenced-in private park in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park is at the core of both the neighborhood referred to as either Gramercy or Gramercy Park and the Gramercy Park Historic District...
in 1989, killing two Con Edison workers and one bystander, and causing damage of several million U.S. dollars. The utility eventually pleaded guilty to lying about asbestos contamination from that accident, and paid a $2 million fine.
A steam pipe explosion at Washington Square
Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park is one of the best-known of New York City's 1,900 public parks. At 9.75 acres , it is a landmark in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity...
in 2000 near the New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
Bobst Library left a 15 foot (4.5 m) crater in the pavement on Washington Square South, scattering debris and leaving traces of asbestos in the air.
The New York Steam Company began providing service in lower Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in 1882. Today, Con Edison operates the New York City steam system
New York City steam system
The New York City steam system is a district heating system which takes steam produced by steam generating stations and carries it under the streets of Manhattan to heat, cool, or supply power to high rise buildings and businesses...
, the largest commercial steam system
District heating
District heating is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating...
in the world, with more than 100 miles (160.9 km) of steam pipe. It provides steam service to nearly 2,000 customers serving more than 100,000 commercial and residential establishments in Manhattan south of 96th Street
96th Street (Manhattan)
96th Street is a major two-way street in East Harlem and the Upper West Side, which is a part of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from the East River at the FDR Drive to the Henry Hudson Parkway at the Hudson River...
. The utility reported that in 2007, the average age of the steam pipes was 54 years, but some were near 100 years old.
See also
- New York City steam systemNew York City steam systemThe New York City steam system is a district heating system which takes steam produced by steam generating stations and carries it under the streets of Manhattan to heat, cool, or supply power to high rise buildings and businesses...
- District heatingDistrict heatingDistrict heating is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating...
- Water hammerWater hammerWater hammer is a pressure surge or wave resulting when a fluid in motion is forced to stop or change direction suddenly . Water hammer commonly occurs when a valve is closed suddenly at an end of a pipeline system, and a pressure wave propagates in the pipe...
External links
- Photos of site from flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/noamg/848427695/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/thatkidrich/848982045/in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/noamg/850883469/
- Raw surveillance footage of the street moments before the steam pipe explosion.
- Video of erupting steam looking westward from 41st Street and Third Avenue.