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Government to make Red Line even germier
By adamg on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 9:38pm
Channel 4 reports Homeland Security wants to test how well biological-warfare detectors in the T work by releasing actual bacteria in Red Line stops in Somerville and Cambridge.
The government assures us the Bacillus subtilis is perfectly harmless. Well, perfectly harmless for healthy people, at any rate. There's a public hearing for government officials to pretend to listen to your concerns on May 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the Central Square Y.
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Comments
Didn't they do this on the Orange Line about 3 years ago?
Nobody gave a damn, life went on.
Actually, people with
Actually, people with compromised immune systems most certainly gave a damn and had to avoid the T for a while. And now will have to do so again.
Hmm
If you have a compromised immune system and you're riding the T, isn't this bacteria going to be the least of your problems? Between the dogs, the snakes, the contaminated surfaces, and the
walking petri dishesfellow passengers, it seems there's a lot to worry about already!There is a lot to worry
There is a lot to worry about, and this adds to it. (Dogs aren't one of those things, since they don't carry diseases communicable to humans.) But blithely claiming that there is already some risk, so we might as well add to it? Driving down 93 is risky already, so let's add some strobe lights and get rid of the guardrails.
Homeland Security wants to pretend that this couldn't hurt anyone. That's false. To pretend otherwise is dehumanizing to the real people who can in fact be hurt by this plan.
Actually... no...
Sorry, but you are talking crazy stuff.
Bacteria are already everywhere: all over your house, everywhere outside, on and in your person. Most bacteria are harmless to human, as is the bacteria being used in this test.
You are going to have to live your life in one of these if you are really concerned about bacteria. Unfortunately, a biosuit won't do anything for the naturally occurring bacteria on your skin.
I'm glad to see DHS is
I'm glad to see DHS is listening to people who actually have a clue, and is only using killed bacteria specifically because of the low but real risk that live bacteria of this strain would pose. Or are they all "talking crazy stuff" too?
The Orange Line doesn't pass through Cambridge
Although some folks in JP are certainly trying to up the snooty activist level to similar heights, it just isn't there yet.
I give a d*mn. I generally am
I give a d*mn. I generally am not a germ-a-phobe. However, bacteria on the T? Not taking that risk. I get sick at the drop of a hat. Guess I will have to do some walking instead of hopping on the bacteria infested T. :( -Mea www.hertrainstories.blogspot.com
Cool
Can the bacteria be manufactured in sawdust form? They can sprinkle it on the puddles of vomit that seem to have become a weekly feature on the Red Line.
Didn't they do this in the 50's?
and the next day you woke up sterile?
Guess that's better then Gozilla suprise, but still...
Nothing new. This was done in
Nothing new. This was done in the NY subways almost fifty years ago.
Cough, cough
[cough] I've had about en-[sniffle] about enough of these MFing[hack, hack ggaaagh] germs [cough, cough] on this MFing train [hack]
This reads like the opening
This reads like the opening lines of a Stephen King novel...
Which Y?
YMCA or YWCA?