NTSB Safety Recommendation Letter P-76-013

Page 1Official PDFI- 1- / ' ' / / ' / r NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD WASHINGION, D.C. FOR RELEASE: 6:3O A t M - j E , s , T , , A P R I L 19, 1976 (202) 426-8787 ISSUED: April 19, 1.976 Forwarded to: M r . Richard L. Sanderson Executive Director Building O f f i c i a l s and Code Administration International, Inc. 1313 E a s t 60th Street Chicago, I l l i n o i s 60637 M r . W i l l i a m Vasvary Executive Director Southern Building Code Congress 3617 Eighth Avenue South Birminghani, Alabama 35222 M r . N e i l McLean Executive Director Plumbing Code Committee International Association of Plumbers and Mechanics O f f i c i a l s 5032 Alhambra Avenue Los Angeles, California 90032 SAFETY RECOMMENDAT I ON (S) - - A t 6:57 a . m . on April 2 2 , 1974, a massive, low-order explosion demolished t h e w e s t wall of a 25-story commercial building a t 305 East 45th Street i n New Yorlc, New York. The s t r u c t u r e of the adjacent building was damaged and g l a s s was broken i n other buildings i n the area. G l a s s fragments and s l i v e r s were blown i n t o 46th Street, where they l a y 1 inch deep i n places. No persons were k i l l e d , b u t more than 70 persons were injured. The National Transportation Safety Board's investigation showed t h a t a 6-inch service l i n e located i n the basement of the building had been struck from below and severed by a ruptured hydropnewnatic pressure tank i n s t a l l e d d i r e c t l y underneath. Gas at 7 inches of water column flowed a t 54,000 cubic f e e t per hour from t h e open end of t h e separated service l i n e . Gas leakage continued f o r about 1 / 2 hour. G a s odors f i n a l l y were noticed by a building occupant, but t h e building exploded before any mitigative e f f o r t s took place. 1745#

Page 2- 2 - The location of t h e hydropneumatic pressure tanks d i r e c t gas service l i n e w a s a critical f a c t o r i n t h i s accident. Since t h e l i n e w a s i n s t a l l e d f i r s t around 1930, and t h e pressure tanks were i n a t a later d a t e , t h e tanks should have been located a t some other PO t h e basement where p o t e n t i a l danger t o e x i s t i n g facilities would be a minimum. NO Federal, New York S t a t e , o r New York City regulations ex the placement of equipment i n r e l a t i o n t o other equipment i n basement plumbing codes a l s o do not s p e c i f i c a l l y relate t o t h e placement of e i n r e l a t i o n to other equipment, but these codes form t h e b a s i s f c i t y regulations. Therefore, t h e National Transportation Safety Board recomm t h e Building O f f i c i a l s and Code Administration International, Southern Building Code Congress, and t h e Plumbing Code Committee of th I n t e r n a t i o n a l Association of Plumbers and Mechanics O f f i c i a l s : Review t h e i r codes to insure t h a t adequate i n s t r u c t i o n s l i s t e d f o r t h e location of n a t u r a l gas service l i n e s i n r e l a t i o n t o other plumbing f a c i l i t i e s such as pressure tanks and b o i l e r s i n i n d u s t r i a l , commercial, and r e s i d buildings. (Recommendation P-76-13) ( C l a s s 11, P r i o r i t y TODD, Chairman, McADAMS, THAYER, BURGESS, and HALEY, Memb#