Hundreds still out of their homes after NYC steam pipe leak

NEW YORK – Hundreds of New Yorkers remained out of their homes and businesses on Friday, the day after a steam pipe explosion spewed asbestos-laden vapour into the air in Manhattan’s Flatiron District.

Authorities said no one was seriously injured in the Thursday morning blast, but several blocks of the neighbourhood remained blocked off and people who were exposed to the steam said they worried about possible health effects.

Connie Wang told The New York Times she was jogging down Fifth Avenue on Thursday when she ran into the aftermath of the blast.

“I just got ash all over me, inhaled a little bit of it, and got some in my eye, actually,” Wang said. “I guess it’s just weird because it’s one of those things that if you’re poisoned, you don’t know for decades, and an initial exposure is supposed to be fine, but it’s very concerning.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday it could take days to check and clean the buildings, which include 28 in a “hot zone” closest to the site where the blast left a crater roughly 20 feet by 15 feet (6 metres by 4.5 metres) in the street.

Authorities have not determined what caused the blast in the 86-year-old main, which was part of a network of steam pipes that the utility Con Edison uses to power heating and cooling systems in thousands of Manhattan buildings.

Con Ed was advising anyone who was near the blast site Thursday to bag the clothes they were wearing and deliver them to a designated collection site.

The utility also said it would provide financial assistance to cover the costs of finding a place to stay during the cleanup.