NYPD, Dept. of Energy to Conduct Airflow Study in Streets, Subways This Summer

This article was written by Caitlin Nolan. 

The New York City Police Department and the U.S. Department of Energy announced they will conduct this summer an airflow study to understand the risks posted by airborne contaminants if they were to ever be dispersed in the atmosphere and in the city's subway system. 

In what will be the largest-ever urban airflow study, to be carried out for three non-consecutive days this July, the NYPD will use the data collected to optimize emergency response following an intentional or accidental release of hazardous materials, which could include chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) weapons.

The findings will also enable city agencies to better understand how other materials disperse, including smoke and fumes from chemical spills, and will help police and other agencies decide where to best locate CBR detection equipment. Results from the study will help authorities refine evacuation or other responses in the event of an emergency.

"The NYPD  works for the best but plans for the worst when it comes to potentially catastrophic attacks such as ones employing radiological contaminants or weaponized anthrax," said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly in a statement.

He added Brookhaven’s expertise in the use of tracer gases to study airflow will "help prepare and safeguard the city’s population in the event of an actual attack."

Both agencies will be working with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to test airflow through the subway system.

"The NYPD, in partnership with the MTA, is responsible for keeping more than 5 million daily subway customers safe and secure," said MTA Acting Chairman Fernando Ferrer in a statement. "This study will bolster the NYPD's understanding of contaminant dispersion within the subway system as well as between the subway system and the street, thereby improving its ability to better protect both our customers and the city population at large.” 

The Subway-Surface Air Flow Exchange (S-SAFE), as the project is formally known, was commissioned by the NYPD and funded through a $3.4 million Department of Homeland Security Transit Security Grant. Brookhaven's scientists, as well as outside support, will track the movement of harmless tracer gases detected by approximately 200 air sampling devices placed on the street and in the subway system. 

The public will be notified to the tests a day in advance. Twenty-one subway lines and several dozen stations citywide will be included in the study, in addition to street-level research. The NYPD noted the study is designed to have zero impact on commuting and other public activity. 

The research will be conducted during daylight hours in parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and in Manhattan from 59th Street to the Battery.