‘We are flying blind’:No air quality rules for polluted underground stations

There are no air pollution limits,regulations or monitoring regimes in place at Sydney’s underground train stations despite poor air quality being recorded across the city’s network of tunnels,some of which are almost 100 years old.

There are strict pollution limits and monitoring regimes set for many areas used by the public,such as road tunnels,but not train stations,a NSW Environment Protection Authority spokeswoman has confirmed following questions from theHerald.

“We regulate the operation of railway infrastructure and rolling stock,however,this does not include any activity at a railway station building (including platforms and offices),” she said.

On Tuesday,a Heraldinvestigation revealedair quality readings across Sydney’s underground train stations that consistently returned results beyond double the safe daily limits for particle pollution.

Curtin University population health research fellow Dr Lucas Hertzog said without regulations and constant monitoring “we are flying blind”.

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“We have the technology and expertise in the country to regulate and monitor air quality. It’s just a matter of political will,” Hertzog said.

There are many examples overseas where regulations and interventions have improved air quality at train stations. In South Korea,sensors were first piloted at stations in 2007; Canada has beenstudying ways to reduce train pollution in its subway system for many years;andToronto is also a success story,Hertzog said.

Train stations across England,Scotland and Wales have an extensiveair quality monitoring network that makes information available to the public.

However,Sydney trains have not tested air quality on the city’s underground station platforms,as dust monitoring is limited to times when maintenance work is being done in tunnels,NSW Transport secretary Josh Murray told ABC Radio on Tuesday.

“The tunnel system in Sydney is just coming up on 100 years old,so we need to adapt our approach as we learn more about the technology we can use[to monitor air quality],” Murray said.

“We will validate what theHerald has put forward and as the minister has asked us to do,come back with a full assessment.”

A spokeswoman for NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said more can be done to assess and improve air quality at underground train stations.

The minister demanded a briefing from bureaucrats about the issues raised by theHerald investigation,and will commission independent testing if required.

“While we have confidence our public transport network provides a safe,healthy and environmentally responsible way to move around,there is always more that can be done,” she said.

Tiny particles,known as PM2.5 and PM10,are created by trains as they brake and accelerate to and from platforms.

When theHerald tested air quality at 16 stations across Sydney,we found the worst air quality on platform 25 at Central Station,where we recorded PM2.5 readings averaged over a minute of 133 µg/m3. This is more than five times the recommended daily limit of 25 µg/m3 set by the World Health Organisation andadopted by the NSW government.

Sydney Metro and Sydney Trains spokeswomen declined to comment and referred questions to the NSW EPA.

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