NYPD Gas in Subway: Police Finding New Data to Combat Terrorism

By Justin Sarachik, Christian Post Reporter Friday, July 19, 2013

Today the NYPD will be releasing non-toxic gases into the subway cars in an effort to do an airflow study case that officers hope will better equip them in the event of a terrorist gas attack on the transit system.

Roughly 150 researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory in Brooklyn will be dispatched throughout the city collecting data and air samples, according to the Village Voice. The tests began at 4:30 a.m.

Two sample boxes have been deployed. One box will deploy trace gases into the air, while the other will gather samples.

"When you think about it, any contaminant, no matter what it is-- whether it's poison gas, or a toxic gas, or a biological agent, or even a radiological material-- the way it moves is the way air moves," Paul Kalb, a director of the study, told the Voice.

The information can one day be used to help respond to an "an accidental or malicious release of toxic material."

Other factors being determined by the study will be where the safest areas to evacuate are, which train lines will be impacted the most, and where shelters can be set up.

"[For example,] if there were something in the 1, 2, 3 train line is that going to go over to the A, C, E, or the F train, or wherever--Those are questions that are quite important in being able to optimize the response and get things going quickly and safely," Kalb continued.

The gas being released is Perfluorocarbon, a natural greenhouse gas. In massive quantities it could potentially be harmful, however, this experiment will have it very controlled.

"If somebody were to say I'm going to release 400 million tons of PFCs, yeah that's a problem, but if you're going to talk about a gram," Kalb said, then stopped and gave an example. "If I had an eyedropper and I put on single drop of a solution in the entire Atlantic Ocean, do you think I'd ever be able to find that or it would have any effect whatsoever? Even if that was the most toxic material in the universe, that would have zero impact."

"The results of the study will not be released to the public because we don't want to provide a primer for terrorists on how best to do this. That's pretty obvious," Kalb said.