Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York, USA.
Norwalk Hospital, Norwalk, Connecticut, USA.
Environ Health Perspect. 2021 Feb;129(2):27001. doi: 10.1289/EHP7202. Epub 2021 Feb 10.
The goals of this study were to assess the air quality in subway systems in the northeastern United States and estimate the health risks for transit workers and commuters.
We report real-time and gravimetric concentrations and particle composition from area samples collected in the subways of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts; New York City, New York/New Jersey (NYC/NJ); and Washington, District of Columbia. A total of 71 stations across 12 transit lines were monitored during morning and evening rush hours.
We observed variable and high concentrations for on-train and on-platform measurements during morning (from 0600 hours to 1000 hours) and evening (from 1500 hours to 1900 hours) rush hour across cities. Mean real-time concentrations in underground stations were , , , , and for the PATH-NYC/NJ; MTA-NYC; Washington, DC; Boston; and Philadelphia transit systems, respectively. In contrast, the mean real-time ambient concentration taken above ground outside the subway stations of PATH-NYC/NJ; MTA-NYC; Washington, DC; Boston; and Philadelphia were , , , , and , respectively. Stations serviced by the PATH-NYC/NJ system had the highest mean gravimetric concentration, , ever reported for a subway system, including two 1-h gravimetric values of approximately during rush hour at one PATH-NYC/NJ subway station. Iron and total carbon accounted for approximately 80% of the mass in a targeted subset of systems and stations.
Our results document that there is an elevation in the concentrations across subway systems in the major urban centers of Northeastern United States during rush hours. Concentrations in some subway stations suggest that transit workers and commuters may be at increased risk according to U.S. federal environmental and occupational guidelines, depending on duration of exposure. This concern is highest for the concentrations encountered in the PATH-NYC/NJ transit system. Further research is urgently needed to identify the sources of and factors that contribute to high levels in individual stations and lines and to assess their potential health impacts on workers and/or commuters. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7202.
本研究旨在评估美国东北部地铁系统的空气质量，并估计对通勤者和交通工作者的健康风险。
我们报告了在宾夕法尼亚州费城、马萨诸塞州波士顿、纽约市/新泽西州（NYC/NJ）和哥伦比亚特区华盛顿的地铁系统中采集的区域样本的实时和重量浓度和颗粒成分。在早晨和傍晚高峰时间监测了 12 条地铁线路的 71 个车站。
我们观察到在早晨（从 0600 小时到 1000 小时）和傍晚（从 1500 小时到 1900 小时）高峰时间，地铁列车和站台的测量值存在变量和高浓度。在地下车站的平均实时 PM2.5 浓度分别为 PATH-NYC/NJ、MTA-NYC、华盛顿特区、波士顿和费城交通系统的 、 、 、 。相比之下，PATH-NYC/NJ、MTA-NYC、华盛顿特区、波士顿和费城地铁站外地面上的平均实时环境 PM2.5 浓度分别为 、 、 、 。PATH-NYC/NJ 系统服务的车站具有最高的平均重量 PM2.5 浓度 ，是迄今为止报告的地铁系统中的最高浓度，包括在一个 PATH-NYC/NJ 地铁站的高峰时间，有两个约 1 小时的重量 PM2.5 值。在目标系统和车站的一部分中，铁和总碳约占 PM2.5 质量的 80%。
我们的结果表明，在美国东北部主要城市中心的地铁系统中，高峰时间 PM2.5 浓度升高。一些地铁站的浓度表明，根据美国联邦环境和职业指南，通勤者和交通工作者可能面临更高的风险，具体取决于暴露时间。在 PATH-NYC/NJ 交通系统中遇到的 PM2.5 浓度最为令人担忧。迫切需要进一步研究，以确定 PM2.5 的来源以及导致个别车站和线路中浓度升高的因素，并评估其对工人和/或通勤者的潜在健康影响。https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7202.
