On Sunday August 20, 1989 in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of New York City, a large steam explosion in front of a residential building generated a large asbestos containing steam cloud and ultimately killed 3 people.[1]
Workers from Con Edison, the major utility company at the time, were repairing a high pressure steam pipe when a 30 inch connecting sleeve burst releasing hot steam upwards. Laboratory testing afterwards determined the insulating material contained asbestos which subsequently lead to large scale evacuation and cleanup. A similar asbestos pipe steam explosion occurred in 2007 in midtown Manhattan.
- ^ Pitt, David E. (1989-08-20). "2 Dead and 19 Hurt in Blast Of a Submerged Steam Pipe". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-02-12.