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A30 FEATURE
Wednesday 15 July 2020
Subways sparkle, but does cleaning decrease COVID-19 risk?

By DAVID PORTER be if you could continu-
Associated Press ously decontaminate the
NEW YORK (AP) — Mass air throughout the course
transit systems around the of the day."
world have taken unprec- That possibility may be on
edented — and expensive the horizon. A 2018 study
— steps to curb the spread and another published
of the coronavirus, includ- this month, both of which
ing New York shutting down Brenner contributed to,
its subways overnight and concluded that low levels
testing powerful ultraviolet of a certain type of ultra-
lamps to disinfect seats, violet light, called far-UVC
poles and floors. light, can be circulated
The cleaning measures continuously in an en-
produced something closed space and kill some
commuters have not forms of human coronavi-
seen in a while, or possibly rus as effectively as con-
ever: thousands of freshly ventional UV light — with-
scrubbed cars that look, out the harmful effects to
feel and even smell clean. human eyes and skin.
But experts say those steps Far-UVC light could of-
solve only part of the prob- fer a whole new level of
lem, and transit officials are protection for passengers
studying more advanced A contractor uses an electrostatic sprayer to disinfect subway cars at the 96th Street station to and transit employees, if it
methods that might some- control the spread of COVID-19, Thursday, July 2, 2020, in New York. Associated Press is also found to be effec-
day automatically disinfect tive against the virus that
transit systems around the the pandemic. Combined causes COVID-19. The MTA
clock. with plummeting revenues is exploring using the tech-
The Moscow Metro and at its toll bridges and tun- nology on its subways.
a public bus company nels, the MTA has projected The MTA is already testing
in Shanghai have experi- the pandemic will cost the a different form of UV light
mented with germ-killing agency more than $10 bil- to disinfect subway cars,
ultraviolet light. Agencies lion through next year. The but it can only be done at
in Hungary and the Czech cleaning program will wind station yards when the cars
Republic have tried using up costing hundreds of mil- are out of service because
ozone gas as a disinfec- lions of dollars over what of the harmful effect on hu-
tant. The public transit sys- the MTA would normally mans. The limited pilot pro-
tem in Dallas tested a "dry spend, Chairman Pat Foye gram costs about $1 million.
fogging" system, and Hong said this past spring. Officials have not said how
Kong used a robot that Is it worth the price? A sur- much it would cost to ex-
sprays a hydrogen perox- vey of 1,000 mass transit pand to the whole system.
ide solution, according to a In this March 11, 2020, file photo, members of the media attend riders conducted by New Chicago Transit Authority
survey by international en- a news conference as a robot sprays hydrogen peroxide during York-based advocacy officials are waiting for the
gineering and professional a demonstration in a train carriage in Hong Kong. group Tri-State Transporta- results of New York's pilot
services firm WSP. Associated Press tion Campaign found that program to see if the light
In Chicago, rail cars are and could be nowhere," protect us the most, hav- cleaning topped a list of is an option for their transit
cleaned every day before said Robyn Gershon, a clin- ing that control among actions people wanted be- system.
starting service and are ical professor of epidemiol- ourselves," Gershon said. "I fore they would feel com- Fred Maxik, whose compa-
prowled at night by crews ogy at New York University. think the rest of it is really fortable riding mass transit ny, Healthe, makes far-UVC
wearing backpack-style Cleaning a train car at a more the illusion, and that's again. "But to what extent light systems that are being
electrostatic sprayers that maintenance yard over- not a small thing because it are we now overspending, used in office buildings and
cover all interior surfaces night — or even several plays with our psyches." or veering too far into secu- schools, cautioned that far-
with disinfectant. times during the day, as Patrick Warren, the MTA's rity theater?" Executive Di- UVC light is not necessarily
All that cleaning does cut New York's Metropolitan chief safety officer, said rector Nick Sifuentes asked a panacea for anxious sub-
the threat of catching the Transportation Authority the authority's aggressive recently. way riders.
virus, experts say, but the does — might not help the cleaning and disinfect- Dr. David Brenner, director "No technology we have
benefits are limited. transit employee or passen- ing began at a time when of the Center for Radiologi- today is going to be per-
The virus transmits predomi- ger stuck in close quarters health officials were warn- cal Research at Columbia fect. It's going to have to
nantly through droplets in with a coughing person. ing that the virus could eas- University Irving Medical be used in conjunction with
the air — it's "everywhere Wearing a face mask "will ily be transmitted from hard Center, has assisted the other good behaviors," he
surfaces — guidance that MTA on its UV light pilot said. "But I think this is the
has since evolved to place program. He called the best of what we've got."
more emphasis on airborne cleaning "not an ideal solu- Warren called far-UVC "a
transmission. tion, but it's a solution that is great innovation" but add-
"As goes the science, so available." ed that the logistical chal-
goes what we are doing," "I think it does increase the lenges of installing it across
Warren said. public safety because in- a century-old subway sys-
New York's subway system stead of having a continu- tem are formidable. He
normally serves more than 5 ous buildup of the virus, you would not speculate on
million riders a day, but rid- are going back to zero ev- what the agency's clean-
ership plunged more than ery day," Brenner said. "A ing efforts might look like a
90 percent at the height of much better solution would year from now.q