Steel Dust and Coronavirus

[MHV9218]

Been putting a little thought to this, really thinking there's a story here that's gone unreported in a lot of coverage, lot of news pieces etc. Would be interested to hear from people who might know more. We know that coronavirus can become aerosolized (airborne) in various situations, and we know that small particulate matter in air pollution is being considered as a possible means of aerosolizing. We also know that people with respiratory problems, and people who live in areas of strong pollution, are considered particularly at risk for the virus in terms of their response. Feels to me like we're staring the problem in the face here.

We've known for decades (and there've been studies, though nothing ever conclusive or thorough enough) that the subway is filled with steel dust from brake shoes (and to a lesser degree, silica dust from tunnels) that lines the surface of just about everything you see. It's the reason there's a small cloud as a train departs a station, why if you hold a door you get darkened fingers, why the bulkheads of 240th Street's cars are so dark and dirty. The subway is filled with it, and T/Os and C/Rs are exposed to it all day long. It seems extremely possible to me that that has affected their respiratory health and made them more at risk for Covid, and it seems somewhat possible to me that some of the dust has allowed the virus to aerosolize and linger in the air. Those two factors together are brutal for transit workers, and I haven't seen anybody discussing them.

Another bit of proof here: nearly all of the MTA's covid deaths have been front-line people, B/Os and C/Rs and T/Os. The Company is massive, and if it were just a randomized thing, you'd see everybody from cleaners to accountants getting sick. But that hasn't been the case. I'd look at steel dust as a specific factor here.

Edited April 15, 2020 by MHV9218

[error46146]

Interesting point, I wonder if they still do the air quality testing in the subway?