Gramercy Park asbestos steam explosion

[3] Two hundred residents were displaced for months while cleanup crews worked to remove asbestos-containing mud from building facades.

Laboratory testing afterwards determined that the insulating material contained asbestos, which subsequently led to a large-scale evacuation and cleanup.

The release from the explosion, in front of 32 Gramercy Park at the corner of 20th Street and Third Avenue, continued for several hours with debris reaching 18 stories.

The pipe was covered with asbestos magnesia block insulation which was pulverized and dispersed with the rising steam cloud.

Five years later, when indicted on the same issue, the company pleaded guilty to conspiracy and environmental law violations in Federal District Court in Manhattan for withholding the information.