Passengers board a subway train at Bloor-Yonge Station, in Toronto, in a Jan. 2, 2019, file photo.Fred Lum
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.”
The Toronto Board of Health asked for the air quality study in 2017 to determine the health effects 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.
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