An aging steam pipe containing cancer-causing asbestos exploded beneath Fifth Avenue in Manhattan early Thursday, spewing a geyser of white vapor 10 stories high and forcing an evacuation of 49 buildings, but city officials said there was no major public health threat.
Five people, including three civilians, suffered minor injuries from the 6:40 a.m. blast on 21st Street, and officials warned people who may have gotten material on them to bag their clothes and shower immediately as a precaution.
On a street near the blast site, firefighters stripped off their heavy outerwear, bagged it and entered a red decontamination tent in their gym shorts and T-shirts to take showers.
“There was asbestos in the steam line casing,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said about eight hours after the explosion, but “the air cleared fairly quickly after the incident.