Hack! Cough! WE LOVE IMPLOSIONS!
Yesterday morning, when lots of folks were already assuming their positions on places like Lemon Hill, the Mayor’s office sent out a press release: In case you didn’t already know, the drift went, we’re about to blow up Mantua Hall any… second… now. Two minutes later, at 7:38am, another press release went out: It was a health advisory. Less than one hour before the housing project, one of Philly’s last high-rises of this kind, was set to blow. And it got us to thinking: While we can all admit that we’re kind of obsessed with watching pieces of this City’s legacy of public policy failure go kaboom, what exactly are we breathing in? So we went to the City’s web site to check out the Health Department’s implosion guidelines, and we were surprised at what we saw. First off, there was this:
Electronic Media. The Media should be asked to inform the public at-large about implosion activities. The public should be discouraged from attending the implosion activities through the Media.
Umm, whoops! I think it’s safe to say we all fucked that one up, Mister Mayor. But after watching the video at right, we also wondered: Just what do folks nearby inhale when these implosions go down? It doesn’t look nice at all. And reading the City’s guidelines for evacuations didn’t give us much solace; they required lots of people checking in for themselves and signing up for things and did not give much credence at all the fact that lots of poor people, such as the ones you’d find in Mantua, are, you know, off the grid. And if you were off the grid, say, you might not know that, for instance:
Post-implosion testing should include:
1. Respirable dust (air)
2. TEM asbestos (air)
3. Lead dust on surfaces (wipes)
You might not also know that it’s the Contractor’s job to submit the results of these ASAP. So, if you’re living in West Philly, and you’ve got a hacking cough and your face itches, just know this: For once, it may not be your fault.
[Video via The Necessity For Ruins]
