From Subway to Submarine
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
As you read this, there are approximately 6,300 subway cars rumbling through underground tunnels and on elevated tracks throughout New York City. The NYC subway system is the fourth largest in the world and the only one that operates 24/7. On an average weekday, the system carries 5,225,675 passengers over 233 miles of tracks.
It has been more than a century since the first New York subway car made its first trip. In that time, the city has gone through a lot of subway cars. What is done with the 30,000-pound cars after they’ve made their last run?
One way to dispose of subway cars is to sink them in the ocean. The cars create artificial reefs that become habitats for sea life, which in turn enhances recreational fishing and scuba diving. Some east coast states share the cost of transporting the old steel wrecks to their final destinations. Today, more than a thousand steel subway cars rest off the shores of Georgia, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
Submerging the cars is the least expensive way to “recycle” them. The cars are insulated with asbestos, and asbestos abatement could cost as much as $65,000 per car, according to New York City transit. By state and federal law, asbestos must be handled with extreme care, as exposure to the mineral can result in mesothelioma and other severe diseases.
On the other hand, the cost of transporting a car to another state and dumping it into the ocean is about $8,000 per car. Doesn’t the asbestos pose a danger underwater as well? Probably not. Asbestos is most dangerous when it is airborne and can be breathed into the lungs. When it is wet, it is reasonably safe. The cars are drained of oil and other toxins before being submerged.
So, the subway “reefing” program, which began in 2001, would seem to be a success. However, a sour note was struck recently when New Jersey discovered some of its underwater subway cars had collapsed. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection says that of 48 cars sunk in 2008, 46 are useless for reef formation. Instead of artificial reefs, the wrecks are an underwater junkyard.
New Jersey has halted its subway “reefing” program. Other states haven’t reported similar problems, however. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York no doubt has its fingers crossed.
— Barbara O’Brien
