At two public meetings held May 9, Bethlehem stakeholders, area elected officials, and residents received a PowerPoint update on the Martin Tower implosion scheduled for last Sunday. The meetings were sponsored by the property owners HRP Management, LLC and included an overview presented by their representative, Duane Wagner.

At each meeting Mayor Bob Donchez introduced public officials from the City of Bethlehem and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection, and representatives from Controlled Demolition, Inc. who handled the implosion.

Bethlehem’s emergency management director Robert Novatnack emceed the meetings by presenting the power point slides that outlined the exclusion zone for the implosion, how the former Bethlehem Steel world headquarters had been prepared for demolition, the anticipated fall area, Lehigh and Northampton County command post locations, and the road closure timeline. Novatnack also facilitated the question and answer session at each meeting.

Representing Controlled Demolition, Jim Santoro outlined how the implosion process would work and what could be expected as the structure collapsed. He explained that the 21-story highrise would essentially drop onto its footprint.

A number of concerns were expressed by attendees at both meetings about air quality issues because of implosion dust particles becoming airborne. During the afternoon, employees and clientele at nearby facilities, some in or bordering on the exclusion zone, wanted to know how safe it would be to remain or report to work later on. In the evening session many residents attended with similar questions and expressed similar air quality issues.