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The air in the metro and RER is up to 8 times more polluted than outside!

2021-01-27T08:43:31.719Z


New measurements from the CNRS and the Respire association still reveal as much air pollution in the metro and RER. The authors dema


We know the air in the metro is polluted.

But study after study, the figures are always more worrying.

And the one published by the CNRS and the Respire association today is no exception.

According to their latest measurements, the levels are still worrying.

The study was carried out between September 24 and December 1, 2020 in around ten train stations and metro and RER stations of the RATP network.

And she looks at the levels of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1.

These particles come from the braking of trains, from the outside air imported through the air vents or from construction sites.

But the smaller they are, the further they penetrate the body and may pose a problem.

High peaks at Gare de Lyon

However, in some stations, their quantity is significant.

In the RER, an average of 100 µg (micrograms) / m3 were recorded at Auber, 60 µgr at Châtelet.

Up to 8 times higher than outdoor air measurements.

With peaks even going up to 500 µg / m3 at Auber or Gare de Lyon!

As a reminder, the WHO recommends a threshold of 20 µg / m3 on average per day and advises not to exceed 50 µg / m3 more than three days per year… “We measured very high bursts for one minute when the train passes , then, the levels return to the average.

But the problem is that of accumulation, explains Jean-Baptiste Renard, from the CNRS and specialist in particle pollution.

In addition to the outside air, we breathe these particles when we wait for the metro, cross the corridors.

And that adds up to the rest of the pollution that we already breathe ”.

The study also notes that "the deeper you go, the greater the pollution", suggesting a lack of ventilation.

Another element of the study, at Alexandre Dumas, where, however, an air purification device was installed, an average of 80 µg is observed, with peaks at 400. “One wonders what the systems are used for. in place by the RATP ”, asks Jean-Baptiste Renard.

A heterogeneous situation

Fortunately, not all levels are of equal concern.

Thus, at Franklin Roosevelt (line 1), the sensors noted between 10 and 40 µg / m3, “values ​​close to measurements for a day of low pollution” details the study.

“But that's the whole point.

The situation is heterogeneous and it is this diversity that we wanted to highlight.

Because faced with this, the RATP offers us three sensors for 300 stations, including one that does not work, that of Auber, and that of Châtelet is not sufficiently maintained to give reliable results ”, laments Olivier Blond, of the 'association.

He also points to the site, supposed to deliver data in real time and which, again Tuesday evening as we have seen, only provided those of the Franklin Roosevelt station.

" This is not serious !

I understand that the RATP has social difficulties, problems of renewal of equipment and attendance.

But it is a public health problem and the company is not making the necessary efforts to protect its employees and users, ”adds Olivier Blond.

Respire and the CNRS is positioning itself as a "whistleblower."

We have been denouncing pollution for several years.

It is up to the RATP to put in place a system of measures and to tell us whether or not it is dangerous ”.

The concern of those who work in the corridors of the metro

Because beyond the users who spend a few minutes to a few hours a day in the metro, there is the question of employees.

According to the Autonomous union, a partner of the study, at least 15,000 RATP agents are concerned, from the metro and RER driver, to the station, security, day and night maintenance agent.

Without forgetting, the cleaners or even the traders: “There is a real concern, assures Reda Benrerbia, secretary general of the SA-RATP.

After a day's work, if you blow your nose or clean your face with milk and a cotton ball, it's black.

And that is only the visible part ”.

On reading the previous study by Respire and the CNRS released in October 2019 and relating to two stations, the secretary general had already sent a letter to Catherine Guillouard, CEO of RATP.

“I was told not to worry, that things were being done.

But I see that my company is laughing at me and that it does not want to take it, ”regrets Reda Benrerbia.

He assures us that the union will do everything in its power to "ensure that the employer respects its safety obligation as provided for in article L41 - 21 of the Labor Code".

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The publication date of this new study is no coincidence. Last July, the Council of State issued its decision following a request from the CFDT - FGEN, on air pollution in the metro. The union felt that the thresholds were too high. And the high administrative authority agreed with him. It asked, within six months, “the Prime Minister to revise the thresholds of the average concentrations of total or respirable dust in the atmosphere inhaled by workers in premises with specific pollution within the period of six months from notification of the decision to be taken ”. Deadline which expires this Friday.

Source: leparis

All news articles on 2021-01-27

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