Toronto's chief medical officer is recommending the city's transit agency take action to improve air quality in its subway system.
The request comes as an independent assessment of subway air quality finds elevated levels of particulate matter which can cause some respiratory illnesses.
Dr. Eileen de Villa says in a report Monday that the study shows levels of particulate matter, and several metal compounds, are high enough to ``warrant mitigation.''
And the problem is worse on Line 2, than it is on Line 1. About twice as much.
"We think that might have something to do with the trains operating on ATC (Automatic Train Control), the braking system on the newer trains versus the older trains." says TTC spokesperson Stuart Green.
"Short term solutions could be to look at the braking on Line 2 trains, is there a way we could soften that braking so that the grinding that would happen between the rail and the wheels could be minimized." says Green. "Because that, of course, contibutes to the particulates getting into the air."
He says long-term solutions could be ATC for the entire system, and newer vehicles.
The Toronto Board of Health asked for the air quality study in 2017 to determine the health impacts for passengers in the subway system.
A TTC spokesman says the agency has taken action to address air quality over the past three decades, including the introduction of new vehicles, improved ventilation and filtration systems.
The agency says subway air quality testing shows the TTC is well below provincially mandated occupational health regulations, but protective equipment is supplied to a small group of employees.
(With files from Canadian Press)