Major Review of Subway Transit Systems in Academy's Journal of Urban Health Suggests Potential for Significant Health and Safety Hazards

NEW YORK CITY, March 3???A special mass transit feature in the March issue of the Journal of Urban Health devotes four articles to exploring health and safety in the subways and vulnerabilities of the subway system itself, which in New York City serves seven million passengers each weekday. The Journal is a quarterly publication of The New York Academy of Medicine.

In one of the articles, safety experts at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health provide a comprehensive look at health and safety hazards that might affect both subway workers and riders. The report indicates that while subways in general (and the New York City subway system in particular) are relatively safe, especially in comparison to automobile use, a number of health concerns remain.

Transmission of infectious diseases is a real threat, whether it occurs person-to-person or by coming in contact with contaminated seats or clothing, said lead author Robyn Gershon, DrPH, associate professor of Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School. ???This risk could be minimized through adequate maintenance of ventilation systems, frequent sanitation, and periodic disinfection of subway surfaces,??? Gershon said. Commuters can also wash their hands after riding the subways for a simple extra measure of protection. Of course, these precautions will not prevent terrorists from spreading airborne pathogens in the subway system, a very real threat that can victimize captive commuters. Cult members who released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway system in 1995 killed 12 people and injured 5,500.

Also in the Academy???s special mass transit issue, researchers led by Steven N. Chillrud, PhD, of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, described their investigation into whether transit workers' bodies harbor health-threatening levels of certain metals as a result of inhaling steel dust from subway equipment. The ongoing pilot study of 40 transit workers will determine the extent of chromium, iron, and manganese in their blood, urine and air samples.

Chillrud and colleagues found in a 1999 study that New York City high school students had elevated levels of these metals in their personal air samples, likely due to exposure to steel dust in the city subways. Airborne concentrations of these three metals were observed to be more than 100 times greater in the subway environment than in home indoor or outdoor settings in the city, the scientists report. ???As one of the largest subway systems in the world, the New York City subway environment could provide important information relevant to evaluating the potential for health effects from exposures to airborne metals,??? the authors write.

In Gershon???s paper, entitled ???Health and Safety Hazards Associated with Subways,??? noise in the underground system was another hazard examined. Anyone who has ever ridden the subway realizes it is a noisy environment, but Gershon and colleagues collected hard data on current noise levels and found them to be as high as in the 1970s. In some cases, noise levels were higher than is considered safe by health experts. Riders who put their fingers in their ears, or even those who wear ear plugs, are getting little protection, she said. And while commuters are often quite concerned about the risk of crime in the subways, public perceptions are often out of line with actual crime rates, which generally have been dropping. One study showed that over 75 percent of New York City passengers are afraid of being pushed onto the tracks, even though this violent event rarely occurs.

???Data on subway safety issues is limited, and much more research in this area is warranted given that millions of people are potentially at risk,??? Gershon said. ???While this comprehensive review of the data gives us the first big picture into the health of our transportation system, without further appropriate risk assessment studies, we cannot adequately determine the factors and health effects of potential hazards and the steps that are needed to reduce this risk.???

The Journal of Urban Health is published quarterly for The New York Academy of Medicine, one of the country???s premier urban health policy and intervention centers. The Academy focuses on enhancing the health of people living in cities through research, education, advocacy, and prevention.

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Posted on March 3, 2005

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