BREAKING: MIDTOWN EXPLOSION

Channel 7 has good street-level footage of the incident at 41st between Third and Lexington. There's a large crater with what appears to be a huge amount of steam spewing out of it.

6:37 The steam was white, but now there's some brownish, muddy-looking stuff spewing up. I note that there's a damaged school bus close to the crater.

6:43 The safety perimeter has been increased. The Lexington line is bypassing Grand Central Station. An eyewitness is saying that grit from the explosion reached many floors up (I think he said 27 floors) and debris landed two short blocks away. There is a sulphurous smell that a reporter seems to be associating with transformer fires.

6:48 An ABC camera operator says that he saw some people lying on Park Avenue, needing attention. Authorities are emphasizing that this is a steampipe explosion and not "suspicious."

6:51 There are major disruptions in mass transit. The Lexington line is largely stopped in Manhattan, the 7 is bypassing Grand Central, there's no shuttle, and buses are being rerouted.

6:56 ABC reports that the steam has to continue rushing out to relieve pressure that, if blocked prematurely, could cause an explosion elsewhere.

7:00 MetroNorth is doing fine out of Grand Central. There seems to be relatively easy entrance to Grand Central via Madison and 47th Street.

7:02 The safety perimeter is being increased again.

7:15 It's a five-alarmer, but it seems to be quieting down in some ways. I think I heard that the most directly affected building is 370 Lexington Avenue. At least six people have been injured. I have to comment here on just how unusual this event is. I don't think anyone has ever seen an urban geyser spewing like this in NYC causing a hole in the ground this big, with debris flying so high. I guess we're all due for a lesson in the city's infrastructure. There's no report as to whether the air is safe. Some of the responders have oxygen tanks and others are holding fabric in front of their faces, but there doesn't seem to be a standard for protecting oneself under the circumstances.

7:22 OEM says that a 20-inch steam pipe blew and wants people to keep their distance from the area. Con Ed is shutting down the steam feed and closing down other valves; there's been some footage of steam coming up elsewhere (I guess to reduce overall pressure). There's some concern about asbestos. A reporter is expressing concern about possible undermining. Now the injury count is up to 12, none serious.

7:24 More than an hour has passed since the explosion. More and more responders are wearing masks. Reporters and bystanders aren't. An ABC anchor is urging his colleagues to wear masks. Reporters are talking about how the smell isn't so bad anymore, as if there couldn't be a problem if you can't smell the problem, but that isn't always the case. Asbestos, like carbon monoxide, is odorless.

7:30 ABC is switching to national news for 15 minutes, after which it will go to Mayor Bloomberg's press conference.

7:43 On Channel 5, former OEM director Jerry Hauer says that asbestos can be tested within hours. (Can we trust what we hear?) He says one should take off any contaminated clothing (preferably outside living quarters), put it in a plastic bag, tie it tightly, take a shower, and give it to Con Ed for testing or call the Department of Environmental Protection for New York. (Can we trust what they say?) He says that the advice to get out of the area is good advice.

7:51 Hizzoner is now supposed to talk at 8:00.

7:57 According to Fox, the injury count is up to 17, including 2-3 serious injuries. Thanks to a commenter at Gothamist, I've learned that there was what seems to have been a similar incident in Gramercy in 1989. Here's something about it from the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (not sure about its provenance).

In 1989, an underground steam pipe explosion in the Gramercy Park area of Manhattan killed 3 people, injured 24, and released approximately 200 pounds of asbestos into the general environment. The asbestos, part of a muddy mixture of water and earth, was sprayed onto every outdoor surface and many indoor surfaces in an area somewhat larger than 1 square block. This asbestos-contaminated mud had an asbestos content roughly identical to that of Trade Center dust in lower Manhattan today, ranging from trace level to five percent.

As soon the presence of asbestos in Gramercy Park was confirmed, NYCDOH declared a public health emergency, ordered the evacuation of more than two hundred residents, and sealed off the contaminated area. NYCDEP, in collaboration with NYCDOH and US EPA, initiated complete asbestos abatement operations in all contaminated buildings and in all contaminated outdoor areas. In some buildings, the decontamination took months, during which time the residents lived elsewhere, at the expense of Con Edison. In the 12 years that have passed since then, no one has suggested that the City's response to asbestos contamination in Gramercy Park was not appropriate. Yet, despite significantly higher levels of fatalities, injuries, evacuations, and toxic releases in lower Manhattan, city agencies undertook no comparable actions subsequent to the events of September 11.

Footage on Channel 5 shows the geyser to be abating. This should help responders see what happened at the center of the explosion.

8:08 Many windows appear to have been broken by the explosion. ABC reporters don't seem to be taking any precautions about possible asbestos, even though the OEM is warning about it.

8:11 There is a red truck in the middle of the crater. WNBC reports one death (thanks to Gothamist for the lead). There are reports that Bloomberg is on the way to the scene. Will he set an example by wearing protective clothing?

8:22 Here's the mayor. No one around him is wearing any anti-asbestos protection. At about 5:57 there was a call about an explosion. No reason to believe that this is anything other than a failure of the infrastructure. A 24-inch steam pipe, installed in 1924, broke. The most likely cause: cold water getting into the pipe. He's pausing for a siren. Dum de dum de dum....

8:29 Okay. Second try. The steam has been turned off. Current toll: one person dead from cardiac arrest, some firefighters hurt, twenty or so civilians injured to varying degrees. There's some loss of Con Ed service. (Hm. I wonder about asbestos. Dum de dum de dum....) Check nyc.gov or radio or television about commuter advisories. Ah, there may have been asbestos.

8:40 Mom called. I told her I'm fine. The Mayor and his officials are all advising that people take precautions against asbestos. The Mayor says one should take normal precautions, whatever that means. At present, the headline at nyc.gov is " Mayor Bloomberg and Chief Medical Examiner Hirsch Cut Ribbon at Largest Government DNA Laboratory in the Country." There is this, though, under NYC RIGHT NOW: "FDNY reports a manhole or steam pipe explosion at Lexington Ave. & 41st St. near Grand Central Station. NYPD reports that it is not terrorism related. The area between 3rd & Lexington Avenues is being evacuated. There is no mandatory evacuation for the residents in the area."

8:48 The headline at the website for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection is "An open hydrant is an unstoppable fire just waiting to happen."

8:55 Here's New York Times coverage by Sewell Chan.