Researchers to spray things into the air on the T to study how a chemical attack might work
The Department of Homeland Security announced today that researchers will spray a variety of substances in the air in MBTA stations, trains and tunnels between Dec. 5 and 11 to help collect data that could lead to techniques to combat evil-doers with toxic sprays.
Researchers from a variety of government labs in the US, the UK and Australia will swarm the T, releasing gases and dyes and monitoring what happens:
The study will involve the release of common, harmless tracer gases used for indoor and outdoor air testing; an inert particle tracer tagged with a biologically inert, non-toxic organic dye used in medical imaging applications; and a common optical brightener often used in laundry detergents and paper manufacturing. The study will help scientists understand the airflow characteristics for smoke or unintentional spills of chemicals or fuels—providing data that will help guide the design of next generation detection systems and enable transportation systems to strengthen evacuation, ventilation and other incident response strategies.
Particle and gas concentrations will be sampled in more than 20 stations and in subway cars in the underground portion of the MBTA subway system from Dec. 5-11. Although commuters may notice the presence of equipment and researchers, the study will not disrupt normal activities or inconvenience the public.
In 1995, a Japanese cult killed 12 and injured 50 by spraying Tokyo subway trains with a deadly gas
In 1966, the Army secretly doused New York City subway riders with bacteria in an experiment to see how a biological agent might spread through the system. Researchers then dropped lightbulbs full of a particular kind of bacteria on train tracks.
Comments
Given the typical ventilation on T trains and platforms
I wonder if they will find much dispersion at all!
only half kidding here ...
If you see something, say something?
Are they going to do this only during hours when the T is closed, or is this also a test of whether customers will in fact report 'suspicious activity' when they see it?
From the linked article, it's
From the linked article, it's clear that it will be done during normal operations.
Isnt this how horror movies
Isnt this how horror movies start? The government does a test with a perfectless harmless substance that ends up not being harmless and suddenly will smith is alone in NYC?
This is a different movie.
This is a different movie. This is the one where the spray turns all the hipsters into Mormons. The few survivors - protected from the fumes at the back room of the thrift store - fight to return their old friends to their former ironic selves by playing them lounge music while pouring PBR over their heads.
Um, OK
As long as the "harmless tracer gases" and "non-toxic organic dye" won't set off alarms when I go to the airport, won't stain my clothes, or mess with my electronics, fine. Or, maybe I'll just stay off the T.
Don't worry
It'll be green.
By which I mean your coat will be green. And your pants. And your shoes. And your face...
This will be the first time
This will be the first time any fresh, inert gas will enter an MBTA station this century.
Once again, our government thinks our biggest concern is terrorism, not normal crime, and certainly not the fact that we are far more likely to die from the MBTA's own shoddy maintenance.
maybe while they're at it...
...they can study the effect of brake pad dust and noise levels on people, instead of pretend terry-rist attacks?
I've rode on red line and orange line cars so loud it was painful.
When a person 20 feet away from me has their
cheezy earbuds cranked up so loud I can make out the song lyrics, I'd say any harmful effects of the subway noise levels won't make any difference to them.
noise noise noise noise
I've busked at Government Center with the trains shrieking in and out, and I'm just sure it violates OSHA noise levels for the Dunkies employees who work there.
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http://accidentalfiddler.blogspot.com/
Nice blog
Each serving contains 1 chuckle of Eeka-humor:
Thank you kindly...
...but I'm not eeka. :)
They were seen at Harvard T Station this week
I saw these guys at the Harvard Square T station earlier this week -- I'm thinking Wednesday morning (12/2), if I remember correctly.
I didn't have a camera on me, but could tell that they were not the usual T employees -- they looked like over-educated university types. They were going back and forth from the main entrance lobby to a storage room alongside the upper bus tunnel. There was a T employee handing them orange vests so that they would look official in their civilian clothes.
They were pushing rolling carts with closed, handled boxes with LBNL on them -- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is listed in the DHS press release as participating in the study.
So if you see geeky guys at the Harvard T station running around with orange vests and rolling carts and LBNL labels, you'll know it's them.