Commuters using Paris's underground system risk being exposed to high levels of fine particle pollution, a study has found. Transport company RATP contests the findings.
Carried out for the TV program Vert de Rage (Green with Rage) on France's Channel 5, the study claims that Paris's metro system is suffering from excessive fine particle pollution, with levels that far exceed recommended standards.
For eight months volunteers surveyed a total of 435 platforms – 392 of them underground – belonging to the metro network as well as the suburban railway network (RER) for pollution.
Measurements took place on weekdays between 6pm and 8pm for a duration of five to 10 minutes.
.Bonjour @CBeaune c’est @vert_de_rage_F5 Nous essayons depuis des semaines d’obtenir une interview avec vous sur notre enquête scientifique sur la pollution de l’air dans le métro et le RER. Nous venons de publier les résultats qui font la Une👇https://t.co/3yGreDxh06
— Martin Boudot (@MartinBoudot) May 23, 2023
The study found the average concentration of fine particles in the underground network was 24µg/m3, nearly five times higher than the WHO-recommended level of 5µg/m3.
Belleville station in the north east of Paris was found to have the most polluted air with fine particle levels of up to 60µg/m3.
Metro line number 5 was the worst affected with 34µg/m3, closely followed by the suburban RER A, the busiest line in the network.
RATP's director of strategy and innovation, Marie-Claude Dupuis, rejected the conclusions of the report saying that circumstantial measurements were compared with general WHO standards, noting that these were tailored for outdoor air.
Criminal investigation
But the RATP was already under fire over the pollution issue.
Earlier this year, prosecutors in Paris opened a criminal investigation into allegations that pollution in the capital's metro system had been deliberately under-reported and was putting lives at risk.
The RATP is being investigated for fraud and causing involuntary injuries following claims that it deliberately under-reports pollution levels and fails to inform passengers about the dangers.
"It's time to lift the veil of silence and that the RATP tells the truth to users," the head of the Respire (Breathe) campaign group, Tony Renucci, said in a statement in April, when a criminal probe was opened.
The organisation, which lobbies for clean air, filed a legal complaint in 2021 after carrying out two separate monitoring investigations.
(with wires)
