Amtrak Cleaning Up Toxic Contaminants Found On Tracks At Penn Station
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Officials have found elevated levels of toxic contaminants on at least two tracks at Penn Station.
The PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, found on Tracks 1 and 10 are not in an area accessible to the public, but the union representing track workers is gravely concerned and pursuing litigation, WCBS 880's Sean Adams reported.
"It doesn't smell, you don't know it's there until it's tested, it's not like you can just go and identify it. It's a silent killer, I mean you can't see it," union representative Tom Wohanka told Adams. "We're constantly working in soils and ballast and we don't even know what's there."
The cancer-causing toxins lace about an inch of sediment on the track beds, according to the Wall Street Journal. The source is most likely locomotive fluid from train models that date back to the days of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
"We're taking this very seriously and we're doing everything we can to make sure our workforce and the traveling public is safe," an Amtrak spokesman told the Wall Street Journal.
Amtrak told the paper it is giving workers protective gear and training.
"What we're really looking for is for Amtrak to take a proactive approach to come up with a testing program so we can identify the areas that are contaminated," Wohanka said.
Tainted track sediment is being vacuumed up overnight and Amtrak will test all tracks for contamination, Adams reported.
Amtrak said there is no risk to commuters.