Transformer Explodes in Downtown Manhattan. One person Killed, 16 Injured

[NNadir]

NEW YORK (CNN) -- One person died and 26 were injured after a steam pipe burst in midtown Manhattan Wednesday, causing a transformer to explode and sending thick plumes of steam and ash into the air near Grand Central Terminal, New York officials said.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the person who died suffered from cardiac arrest.

The New York Fire Department said it received a call reporting an explosion at 5:56 p.m. More than 170 firefighters were dispatched to the site at Lexington Avenue near 41st Street. Map »

Hundreds of people fled as dozens of police, fire and utility workers arrived. Officials said the explosion was not related to terrorism.

Carol Bergendale, who witnessed the blast, told WABC that people immediately feared a terror attack. She said there was a loud noise that lasted more than 10 minutes, and people started driving in the wrong direction to get away...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/18/new.york.explosion/index.html

Although it is true that transformers in Manhattan are partially powered by the nuclear power plant at Indian Point more than 50 km away, steam lines in Manhattan are powered by dangerous fossil fuels. Dangerous fossil fuels also provide some of the power to transformers in Manhattan, more than 50% of it in fact.

I'm not sure therefore that it would be fair to call this a "nuclear accident."

This dangerous fire cannot be called a "non-hydro renewable energy" accident, since renewable energy does not provide much power to Manhattan or many other places around the world. If we can find out whether New York was importing hydroelectricity from Canada or Niagara Falls though, we might have some reason to call this either a hydroelectric accident or a dam failure.

As the transformer fire in Japan has been designated a "nuclear accident," even though it was, um, well, an earthquake I propose to designate this accident a "dangerous fossil fuel accident," on the grounds that 1) almost all the energy involved came from dangerous fossil fuels and 2) we've already had a nuclear "accident" this week that was mostly a transformer fire.

Those who might object to calling this a "dangerous fossil fuel accident" are reminded that this dangerous fossil fuel accident will be forgotten in about 20 minutes which is about 45 minutes longer than it took to forget the Piper Alpha North Sea oil platform explosion and fire that killed 167 people. That 1988 accident, you will recall, lead to a successful banning of dangerous fossil fuels around the world, which is why we no longer use oil in this country.

[skids]

1. That's sounds fair to me...

...there are tons of refinery and such accidents all the time. We only hear about it when the plume is big enough to spook the neighbors.

I think that's due to a flaw in the way we do business in this country that causes corporations to stonewall the public's right to know, and it's a problem whose source is technology neutral, though arguably the consequences can vary based on the base technology and on the age and comparative shoddiness of the plant.

That there was a steam pipe in operation that was laid in 1924 is also indicative of two more things -- 1) they sure built stuff to last back then, and 2) we're too societally retarded to get our acts together enough to upgrade things these days in nither the public or private sectors.

[NNadir]

2. It helps us to hear about it if the word "nuclear" is included.

It's not like everybody's hearing all about Texas City.

[daninthemoon]

3. Robots in Disguise

[NNadir]

4. Wow.

That's just what I was thinking.

You must be psychic.

Well actually I was just thinking "Undulating Fish Heads" but it's pretty close.

[soothsayer]

5. Transformers. Like the movie that's out now. Old kid's show and toy.

http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/

[soothsayer]

6. Weird. On July 14 I saw a thread predicting a NYC explosion on July 18

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/bbs/message.php?page=1&messageid=411819&showdate=7/19/07&mpage=1

Major bombing threat to New York on Wednesday July 18 -- Please warn the American people
Quote

Twelve guys from Israel's Kidon unit are going to target NYC (department stores, Broadway, other locae) with high explosives and possibly a mini-nuke and make it look like al Qaeda terrorists with "Iranian links" are responsible.

I know these guys are involved: Shmuel Harriman, Yitzhak Frenkel, Menahem Vitman, Don Palder, Ari Itzkovich, Jay "Crow" Stimpson, Michael Panchet, Don Lineweaver, and Yocheved Gilman-Katz. I don't know the names of the three other guys.

The way I was told, it's supposed to be "a dry run" to test warning systems, and this has secretly been given the go-ahead by Chertoff.

If you push this around the Net, I know for sure they'll scramble the show.

Please do it.

I won't hang around in case they trace me before I'm gone.