C'mon in, the air is great.

Another day in New York City.

Asbestos has been found in the muddy dirt and debris that was spewed forth in a thunderous steam pipe explosion that jolted Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday evening. But no asbestos was found in the air, as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and others had initially feared.

New York City officials said today that it is unlikely that anyone will have long-term health effects from brief exposure to the asbestos.

“Developing an asbestos-related illness after being exposed for a short time — even at high levels — is very unlikely,” city officials reported this morning. “Although we can never say if something is completely safe, from all the information we have obtained, there are unlikely to be long-term physical health consequences.”

Asbestos is a known carcinogen. Most health officials say there is no safe level of exposure. But asbestos-related diseases generally are linked to sustained exposure in industrial settings over many years.

The streets around the area of the explosion near Grand Central Terminal remained closed this morning and city officials created a “frozen area” where people cannot enter because of cleanup and environmental tests. Those already in the area have been allowed to stay.

That sounds familiar.

EPA Administrator Christie Whitman announced today that results from the Agency's air and drinking water monitoring near the World Trade Center and Pentagon disaster sites indicate that these vital resources are safe. Whitman also announced that EPA has been given up to $83 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support EPA's involvement in cleanup activities and ongoing monitoring of environmental conditions in both the New York City and Washington metropolitan areas following last week's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

"We are very encouraged that the results from our monitoring of air quality and drinking water conditions in both New York and near the Pentagon show that the public in these areas is not being exposed to excessive levels of asbestos or other harmful substances," Whitman said. "Given the scope of the tragedy from last week, I am glad to reassure the people of New York and Washington, D.C. that their air is safe to breath and their water is safe to drink," she added.

You betcha.

New York, NY: On the steps of City Hall, the Sierra Club today released a new, hard-hitting report titled, "Air Pollution and Deception at Ground Zero: How the Bush Administration's Reckless Disregard of 9/11 Toxic Hazards Poses Long-Term Threats for New York City and the Nation."

Picking up where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Inspector General's report left off, this report takes the most comprehensive look at well-known, and little-known, health impacts of the attacks of 9/11 and, most importantly, how the Bush administration's mistakes in the aftermath are in danger of being institutionalized as policy for the handling of any future attacks on Americans.