Complaints about New York City’s public transportation system are the order of the day. And this time, the list of complaints from passengers, which range from delays, service suspensions and neglected stations, is now joined by the poor air quality suffered by New Yorkers who rely on the subway to get around the Big Apple.
This was revealed by a study conducted by the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering at NYU, which warns that, mainly on platforms and train cars, there are very high levels of a pollutant known as PM2.5: micro particles that directly reach the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs.
And although the more than 5 million passengers who move between the subway’s 472 stations every day are exposed to polluted air, the report found that Latinos and blacks, as well as low-income communities, are the most affected with greater exposure to toxic pollutants.
The report notes that Hispanic New Yorkers experience 35% higher levels of exposure to PM2.5 particles than Asians and whites, largely because they rely more on public transportation and take longer trips to get to work. The 181st Street, 168th Street, Bowling Green and Broadway-Lafayette stations are the most polluted, and Washington Heights has the highest per capita level of exposure to subway pollutants.
This was explained by Masoud Ghandehari, a researcher and professor at the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University (NYU), who also noted that the health status of low-income New Yorkers is also related to a greater negative impact of pollutants.
“People who travel farther are more vulnerable because they are exposed to particulate matter for a longer time. A person from a higher economic level will also probably have a less adverse response to poor air quality because their baseline health is already better than that of a person from a lower economic level,” the researcher said. “It is a problem because concentrations are very high, especially in people with underlying health problems.”
The expert added that the polluting particles come mainly from metal ions within which have been linked to cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, neurological disorders and other health conditions.
Latino commuters in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx are the most affected by polluted air. Photo by Edwin Martinez.
“We noticed that when a train arrives at the station, the concentration in the air shoots up and, approximately 15 to 20 seconds after it leaves, the concentration slowly decreases. This implies that it is what is at the bottom of the tunnel that is stirred up and deteriorating the air,” said the NYU professor.
“At that size, these particles penetrate the lung, and fine particles have been shown to cause problems with cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological diseases. We have 5 million passengers a day. Imagine the human impact one can have in a single day on the New York City subway system,” the expert warned.
The researchers also found that average concentrations of PM2.5 pollutants on train platforms and train cars were 10 and seven times higher, respectively, than the World Health Organization’s guidelines. They also said the average subway platform had four times the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard for exposure to PM2.5 pollution.
Passengers like Luz Atehortúa, who said she uses the subway six times a week from Upper Manhattan to Wall Street, where she works in a finance office, were not surprised by the data from the study, as she said she feels the effects of the polluting particles every day.
“Those of us who travel by subway every day know that the air is not only unhealthy but also quite harmful. There are specific points in the trip where one starts to cough more or suddenly feels a cough, and at the station I always use, from the moment one enters, one feels the heaviness in the air, in addition to the stench that exists,” said the Dominican. “One would like to say that they should solve this problem, but for that they would have to change the entire system because the rails are very old and I don’t think they would do that. Additional precautions must be taken.”
Silvia López, who is also a frequent user of the New York subway, raises major complaints and even directly blames the transportation authorities for the deterioration of her health.
“I am a sick woman, I have been asthmatic since birth, but lately every time I get on the subway I get a burning sensation in my eyes, I start to sneeze and my throat burns. My health has worsened and it is because of the train,” says the 47-year-old mother. “That is why, even though we are no longer under threat of Covid, I continue to wear my mask when I get on the train. This bad air is the new threat. There are many places where it feels worse and when the sun rays come in, you can even see the particles you swallow.”
Ismael Lizardo, who travels by subway mainly between Queens and Manhattan, also says he has felt the ravages of poor air quality in the transportation system and calls for ventilation systems to be improved or resources to be invested in projects that help decontaminate the environment.
“It’s not just the subway, the air is polluted and they should do something to fix that problem. I would like them to do a study especially on the air in Queensboro Plaza, because every time the train passes by there I start coughing and coughing and my throat gets dry. And I see many people who get the same,” said the Colombian.
As for the origin of the pollutants that subway passengers breathe, the NYU study found that they come from the abrasion of brakes, rails and wheels, which generates a very high iron content, as seen in the particles that were collected and analyzed in the study. The particles in the air are so tiny that they cannot be seen and when they are inhaled in suspension, they enter the lungs and even the bloodstream, generating short- and long-term health impacts.
Train carriages and platforms register the highest levels of contamination. Photo Edwin Martínez
The researchers who conducted the study concluded by calling for the findings they brought to light not to be dismissed or ignored, and insisted that the unhealthy air in the subway is not fiction, and that action must be taken to address this problem, which they added is already having an impact on the health of New Yorkers.
“I think the responsibility of ensuring that the environment is safe for people to use is on the agency because the intention of the subway was to make things easier for people,” Ghandehar said. “The goal here is to make people’s lives better and I would be more than happy to work with the MTA because we have information about the location of stations on specific lines where the agency can prioritize its efforts.”
Despite the call, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) dismissed the findings, and while it made no specific reference to the serious threats that poor air quality poses to millions of passengers, according to the report, it said the data is not reliable, as it was taken a couple of years ago.
“This recycled ‘study’ based on years-old ‘data’ has long been debunked,” an MTA spokesperson said. “Every serious person knows that public transit is the antidote to climate change, the sole reason New York is the greenest city, and an engine of equity for people in all communities who need an affordable and safe way to get to jobs, schools, and opportunities of all kinds.”
The air in the subway is very polluted. Photo Edwin Martínez
Data
- PM2.5 polluting particles are present at high levels in the metro system
- 5 million passengers who travel on the subway every day are exposed
- 472 stations make up the metro
- Latinos are 35% more exposed to polluting particles than Asians and whites
- 181st Street, 168th Street, Bowling Green and Broadway-Lafayette are the most polluted stations
- Washington Heights has the highest per capita level of exposure to pollutants in the metro
- 15 and 20 seconds after a train leaves, the concentration of pollutants is stirred
- Air pollution levels in the subway are 10 times higher than those established by the World Health Organization
- PM2.5 are microparticles that enter the lungs and bloodstream
- Irritated eyes, nose and throat discomfort, coughing, sneezing and shortness of breath are some of the symptoms.