Burst Pipe Sprays Mud and Asbestos
near NYU’s Bobst Library
An underground university steam pipe left a large crater and a cloud of debris behind when it exploded early in the morning on August 31 outside New York University’s Elmer Holmes Bobst Library. The blast spattered the library building, cars, and 58 people with mud containing traces of asbestos used to insulate the 30-year-old pipe.
Director of Public Services Lucinda Covert-Vail told American Libraries that the only loss to the library was some water damage to carpeting in the microform room on one of the library’s lower floors. The library remained closed throughout the day, but reopened the next morning with limited access to microforms. “Everything will be back to normal when classes resume next week,” she said.
Most of the individuals exposed to the debris were construction workers at a site nearby where a new student center is being built; others were university employees and police officers. City emergency management officials set up a decontamination site where those exposed took showers inside a truck or a tent while their clothing was laundered, according to the September 1 New York Times.
There were no injuries reported, and officials were still investigating the cause of the explosion. A private team of hazardous-materials workers hired by the university washed down the affected area.
Posted September 4, 2000.
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