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MTA On 2nd Ave. Subway Carcinogens: Keep Calm And Carry On

By

Garth Johnston

Published Mar 20, 2012

Modified Mar 20, 2012

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Hmmm, where's his face mask?

 

Jake Dobkin / Gothamist

By

Garth Johnston

Published Mar 20, 2012

Modified Mar 20, 2012

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Hey, Upper East Siders? Don't worry about that 2nd Avenue Subway sickness. Despite reports of high levels of the carcinogen silica found in the ongoing project's tunnels, the MTA assures you that the public was never at risk and that worker's safety masks are doing what they are supposed to. Whew!

Recently the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration revealed that back in November it found more than three times the recommended levels of silica in the tunnel, as well as spotting a worker with an ill-fitting mask. The MTA now says that OSHA citations "stemmed from one incident in which a worker was exposed to high levels due to an improperly sized mask." And now everybody is wearing the right sized masks (the MTA tested 150 of them yesterday) and everything is just fine and dandy. Unless you are a puppy...

Tagged

cancer

carcinogens

manhattan

MTA

second avenue subway

tunnel

Garth Johnston

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