TTC says subway air quality not healthy for commuters

September 2017

Early last week, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) announced it would conduct its own air quality assessment down in the subway system due to a high amount of harmful particulate matter caused by the grinding of the rail tracks.

In an interview with Stuart Green, the Senior Communications Specialist in Media Relations and Issues Management at the TTC, he explains that the TTC is responding to the on-going issue of the air quality down in the subway system.

He says, “The Health Canada study that was conducted several years ago and released this year did result in additional attention to the issue of subway air quality. In response to questions raised by some TTC employee union representatives, our board directed the new health impact study for employees and customers. We did have some work refusals this spring, but the Ontario Ministry of Labour deemed that the air quality was not likely to endanger an employee.”

Humber College student Ryan Fung disagrees and feels strongly towards this issue. He says, “I’m used to the smell since I ride the subway a lot. It smells like something burning and probably not the cleanest thing to smell. I know it is probably affecting my lungs, breathing the air that has no natural outside air to flow.” Fung also says that there should be more vents or filters with access to more air flowing through.

In a staff report prepared by Toronto Public Health, it says that during the study, Toronto Public Health will focus on subway commuter exposure to air pollutants. They will use well-established assessment approaches that are commonly used in the environmental health field.

A detailed TTC employee health study was last conducted in 1995, showing that there were no concerns about impacts on employee health. Being that this study is outdated, the TTC recognizes that and has been active in their approach to making the quality of air in the subway system better.

“We have taken numerous steps over the past several years to improve the quality of air in the tunnels and on the trains. We conduct regular cleaning of subway tunnels to remove material that can become airborne. We have invested in a new vacuum car with a HEPA filtration system that will improve air quality. We have new subway trains with upgraded filtration systems and the older subways have undergone an HVAC refurbishment program for air quality and to keep the air conditioning units running,” Green says.

The air quality assessment study has already begun, and it will cost $500,000 in total. It will take place during regular subway operating hours.