< Back to front page Text size – +

Streets closed in downtown Boston due to asbestos concerns

E-mail|Link|Comments () July 20, 2010 01:10 PM

By Alex Katz, Globe Correspondent

Both Harrison Avenue and Traveler Street have been closed this morning as crews prepare to transport bags of asbestos debris collected after a steam pipe rupture in the area, authorities said.

The firm licensed to transport and dispose of the asbestos was ordered by the fire department's hazardous materials inspector to use a different vehicle after they originally rented a small U-Haul truck, according to fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

Rowan Sanders, a spokesman for Trigen Energy, the company that owns the steam pipes from which the asbestos originated, said the bags are sitting on a plastic surface on the road now, waiting for the proper vehicle to arrive.

The cleaup is ongoing, MacDonald said, and crews are in the final stages of surface cleaning the area.

"Hazmat cleanups are very slow and methodical," he said. "They never go quickly."

The state Department of Environmental Protection and US Occupational Safety and Health Administration are on the scene, but officials do not know when the streets will reopen. At this time, Harrison Avenue is open until Traveler Street. From there, the area is closed down between Traveler Street and Herald Street, right in front of the Boston Herald's offices. Police are urging people to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.