Government would only spray killed bacteria - and only in off hours - in Red Line bioterror attack tests

By adamg on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 9:35am

The Department of Homeland Security says the moves will ensure the tests, planned for this summer at Harvard, Porter and Davis on the Red Line, pose no risk to riders with immune problems, according to a DHS report - unlike fellow riders or snakes.

The release of B. subtilis spores will mimic a possible bioterror attack and test the efficiency of scanners to provide early warnings of possible biologic attacks - in as little as 20 minutes after the release of bacteria.

B. subtilis is generally considered harmless - you can even buy it as a "probiotic" nutritional supplement - but the environmental assessment, prepared for the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, rules out the idea of using live bacteria released during normal commuter hours:

While the probability that an infection of a vulnerable subway rider may occur is very low due to the small number of spores proposed to be released in the station during testing, the consequences of any infection caused by the proposed testing are not acceptable and, as such, the use of viable spores in open air challenge testing of the biosensor system is not recommended.

Instead, the department will use spore samples irradiated with gamma rays and released overnight. The dead spores can still be detected by scanners, but cannot infect anybody, DHS says. The T will run trains during the testing period because air movement caused by trains is a major way bioweapons would be dispersed in a subway.

DHS approached the MBTA for its testing because it's a large system in a regions with temperature extremes and because of earlier testing on the T that involved the release of dyes and gases.

Within the MBTA system, the three adjacent stations of Porter, Davis, and Harvard were selected as test locations due to previous airflow modeling efforts that could be leveraged for this test, as well as the ease of sensor installation in these locations.

DHS holds a public hearing on the proposed testing at 5:30 p.m. on May 16 at the YMCA in Central Square, Cambridge. Comments can be submitted to [email protected].

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Comments

Alewife glows in the dark

By anon
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 9:52am

Alewife was built on a contaminated waste site owed by JR Grace company why not start there. The next time you ride the red line look closely at your fellow passengers at least one will have a desease that we thought was cured in medieval times one will be spraying bodily fluids and another will have a needle sticking out of his arm. On the bright side the red line will probably break down during the tests and you will be bussed anyway.

It's always nice to hear from

By Dan Seitz
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 11:43am

It's always nice to hear from suburban drivers who've never been on the T.

I LOL'd

By anon²
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 12:49pm

There's some truth in that rant.

killed bacteria still a problem

By Udonymous
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 10:23am

It doesn't have to be living to trigger an unpleasant immune response or even allergic reaction.

Mostly Harmless

By Some guy
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 10:56am

They're gamma irradiated. And yes, endotoxins are a concern if they end up in your bloodstream, but as a general rule of thumb, it's best to keep anything that is part of the MBTA out of your bloodstream.

Or lungs

By Udonymous
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 11:09am

Inhalation is the most important route for immunoresponse to endotoxin.

Nice to get our facts straight.

Important?

By Some guy
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:26pm

Define "important". If by important you mean frequent, then yes, I agree, endotoxins are everywhere and we breathe them in all the time. If by important you mean dangerous, then I'll have to disagree.

Honestly, if inhalation is your big fear, I'd be more worried every time the T rolls into the station cooking its brakes than I would be about this test.

Inhalation is often the most

By brianjdamico
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:44pm

Inhalation is often the most dangerous way to become infected with something, because its a very direct pathway into the bloodstream. If we are talking endotoxins as the issue here, those cause a problem when they get into the bloodstream and then your body decides to go crazy with its immune response, hurting you. So, yes, inhalation will get endotoxins into your bloodstream faster than say, ingesting them, but at the end of the day, the original post in question is still correct, you want to keep them out of your bloodstream, by whatever mechanisms the bad stuff can end up there.

not talking infection here

By Udonymous
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:51pm

I'm talking immune reaction, asthma, and hyperresponsiveness in persons with COPD, among others.

Asthma and airway reactions can be VERY dangerous (fatal) and are far more common than infections.

Endotoxin isn't alive - just the little sweaters off gram negative bacteria. It isn't endotoxin that infects - it is the bacteria. However, those little sweaters can send your immune system into a veritable tizzy that can result in death if you suffer from asthma, COPD or otherwise develop lung inflammation secondary to senstitzation.

When you have spent a couple of years getting paid good money to study this stuff, I'll happily have a collegial conversation with you about it. In the meantime, stop preaching ignorance as reassurance.

B. subtilis is Gram positive.

By anon
Fri, 05/04/2012 - 5:22pm

B. subtilis is Gram positive. Gram negative bacteria produce endotoxin. So, no.

So is Bacillus thuringiensis

By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 05/04/2012 - 6:50pm

And Bacillus thuringiensis is increasingly implicated in causing allergic airway hyper response episodes in exposed populations.

Proteins trigger allergic reactions.

Yes, they do. But the entire

By anon
Sat, 05/05/2012 - 7:38am

Yes, they do. But the entire point about endotoxins is moot. They are a very specific set of compounds, which are not produced by Bacillus sp.
Also, B. subtilis is one of the bacteria that you are probably already exposed to on a daily basis.

idiots

By Brett
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 10:46am

"Instead, the department will use spore samples irradiated with gamma rays and released overnight."

You mean when there's nowhere near the usual air movement in the tunnels because the trains aren't moving? Yeah. That's useful testing.

Hey look, security theater!

Did you read the very next sentence?

By adamg
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 10:53am

The one about how the T will run trains to mimic daytime operations?

Mimic daytime operations?

By Michael
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 1:33pm

So it will sit in the tunnel between Porter and Davis for 7 unexplained minutes and then the bacteria will have to be shuttle-bused the rest of the way to Kendall.

Read the whole paragraph next time

By brianjdamico
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 10:55am

"The T will run trains during the testing period because air movement caused by trains is a major way bioweapons would be dispersed in a subway."

But, but ... The T can't run

By Saul
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 11:08am

But, but ... The T can't run trains overnight because that's when critical maintenance is performed.

Opening a can of worms here ... running!

Right?

By anon²
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 12:52pm

Or the overtime! Think of all the overtime!

Can't run trains until 1:30-2am on Thur-Sat cause of the overtime!

There's a HUGE difference

By brianjdamico
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 12:57pm

There's a HUGE difference between running trains to test something and operating a mass transit system. You don't think they need to move the trains for maintenance? I guess they could operate the T overnight then, since the trains are clearly capable of being moved.

I'd worry more about the

By NotWhitey
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 11:59am

I'd worry more about the pickers, scratchers, coughers and sneezers standing beside me. Every T train in an incubator for infectious diseases.

I have to agree here. I

By Mea
Tue, 05/01/2012 - 3:56pm

I have to agree here. I cringe when I see someone cover their mouth with their hand while coughing and then put their hand back on the pole. Or to see somone wipe their nose with their hand and put it on the pole. I am antibac-ing my hands the second I am off that T! Yuck. -Mea www.hertrainstories.blogspot.com

Amen

By CraigInDaVille
Wed, 05/02/2012 - 8:15am

I almost never sit down (seriously-- who thought that CLOTH seat covers on the Orange Line would be a good idea for future cleaning and maintenance??), and I only every use my right had to hold the pole. That way I know which hand to avoid touching any part of my face, etc, until I can wash and/or sanitize. Nasty, nasty, nasty.