Posted on July 20, 2018
Just as the sun was rising in New York City and the city began to stir, residents were awakened to a deafening blast.
Authorities confirmed, an 86 year-old asbestos-lined steam pipe exploded in the Manhattan’s Flatiron District. This explosion — leaving a crater the size of a car and half– had some serious immediate repercussions. It not only displaced 500 residents, affected 250 residential units, and required complete evacuations of 49 buildings, but it put almost 600 New York residents and first-responders in danger of asbestos exposure.
The New York Times reported “Test results that showed there was asbestos in the steam line raised concerns about the long-term effect of exposure through debris, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at an afternoon news conference.”
Asbestos is a known carcinogen and there is no safe level of exposure. The new Global Asbestos Disaster study estimates 40,000 American die each year from mesothelioma, lung, ovarian, and laryngeal cancers, and asbestosis. Due to the long latency period of 10 – 50 years, the risk of asbestos exposure is often ignored.
Despite these known dangers, asbestos risk management in homes, schools, workplaces, and infrastructures continues to plague cities throughout the USA. According to the Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America’s (LHSFNA), “A/C The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows for imports and use to continue. Shockingly, but not surprisingly, the EPA released their Problem Formulation Document for evaluating the risk of asbestos and excluded both deadly “legacy” and the Libby Amphibole from the evaluation. Given the recent asbestos exposure in the Flatiron district in New York, the EPA needs to do their job to properly evaluate asbestos which will ultimately lead to an asbestos ban. Sign the petition urging the EPA to do their job and ban asbestos now without any loopholes or exemptions. Enough. Linda
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