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Comments

• [1] judy from minnesota July 19, 2007 - 10:11AM

  What size steam pipe was it. major minor artery?

  
  
• [2] wer July 19, 2007 - 10:12AM

  Does anybody know how frequently steam explosions take place underground in the 5 boroughs annually?

  I've seen two in the past year, Brooklyn and Queens, where the manholes shot up high in the air, massive explosion. Nobody hurt that I could tell. Ignored by media.

  
  
• [3] Robert from NYC July 19, 2007 - 10:17AM

  This is so great, this is a great guest answering so many questions about the NYC steam system (infrastructure) that I've always wanted to know about. As a child my uncle told me the steam was produced to melt the snow when it snowed and I've heard various "ideas" about why we have it. Thanks to your guest. Seems like many of the listeners are as interested as I.

  I love this segment, thank you for it.

  
  
• [4] Gaspare from NY July 19, 2007 - 10:23AM

  Last summer, I interned at Keyspan in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in the Gas Construction division. During the internship, I dealt routinely with the gas piping in Brooklyn and parts of Queens.

  I'm assuming that the piping for gas is similar to that used for steam. Having said that, all of the pipes used for gas in these areas are all cast iron and outdated. However, as the guest said, it would be completely inefficient to replace all these pipes. Therefore, the company will wait until there is construction near a gas pipe or main, which could jeopardize the structural integrity of the pipe, and then after the necessary precautions have been taken, replace the pipe with either a new PVC or steel pipe. Hope this helps!

  
  
• [5] deborah ruffins from Queens July 19, 2007 - 10:28AM

  It is of course big news that a steam pipe blew in midtown but where was the (accurate)transit information about the subways from Queens into Manhattan yesterday? Where was the news coverage? The morning rain was devastating to Southern Queens subway service. There was no E, F or V train service from Southern Queens to Manhatten or back at all yesterday and there was not one iota of coverage about the inconvenience to the residents or about the actual status of the system. This is the second time at least in the last month that the system has flooded out. One has to wonder what is at play.

  
  
• [6] Karen from Manhattan July 19, 2007 - 10:29AM

  Yesterday morning on East 14th Street near the con ed plant and after the double blast of torrential rain -not only was the end of the Stuyvesant Town Loop (where it meets Avenue B) widely flooded, but 14th street close to Avenue C was filled with steam for half a block. A few weeks ago I noticed the smell of burning in this area right after a rain storm. Firetrucks were driving around as if looking for the source of the smell. It was coming from several manhole covers.

  Should I be worried about an imminent explosion?

  
  
• [7] Julian from Manhattan July 19, 2007 - 10:52AM

  Hi,

  Just so Brian knows steam is not anachronistic, most nuclear power plants generate steam from the radioactive energy to drive huge turbines that produce the electricity. Also, all air conditioning requires pressurization (liquifaction) and then a pressure drop (vaporization) to produce the cooling effect. Steam is an excellent medium for this.

  
  
• [8] Barry from East V. July 19, 2007 - 10:59AM

  I have seen that this is in the works for a long time.

  
  
• [9] Hannes from nyc July 19, 2007 - 11:47AM

  How Can a $124.8 Million a Year CEO Make Health Care More Affordable?

  
  
• [10] Allie from Brooklyn July 19, 2007 - 12:18PM

  Kate Ascher, I just want to say that I love your book, The Works. So fascinating!

  
  
• [11] Jiuliana Malfatti from Queens, NY July 20, 2007 - 11:31AM

  My brother was killed in the 1989 Gramercy Park steam explosion. My family's loss is immeasurable. Back then there was the same questions about updating the steam system. The 1989 explosion was preceded by a water main break. There seems to be a connectin between flooding and steam explosions. Given that water main breaks happen often in NYC, and given that weather (as experienced yesterday) has become volatile, I can't see how NYC and Con Ed can say it would be inefficient to replace the old pipes. Do they mean inefficient or expensive? How many lives will it take before it is efficient???

  We all viewed the FORCE of that steam hurtling out of that hole -- it is this kind of event that causes a quiet exodus from our fair city.

  thank you for your great show.