NEWSTALK 1010 has exclusively obtained a copy of an internal TTC memo addressing pollution concerns.
A study published yesterday indicates pollution levels in subway tunnels are 10 times higher than the outside air, as bad as spending a day in Beijing.
In comparison to other Canadian transit systems, that is three times higher than levels detected on Montreal’s Metro and five times higher than on Vancouver’s SkyTrain.
Air quality testing was conducted between 2010 and 2013 and found samples to mostly contain iron particles.
The TTC has sent a one-page letter to workers assuring them the commission is working with Health Canada, a new track vacuum car outfitted with a gold-standard high efficiency particulate air filtration system has been purchased, station/tunnels are being washed, and air ducts are being cleaned.
Mayor John Tory wants further testing done by a third party. "When I talk about an objective expert, I am talking about somebody that their objectivity is not in question, that they're from outside the TTC, and that they're experts so that their word can be taken as reliable."
It's been 25 years since the TTC, itself, conducted significant air tests inside subway tunnels.