Study Detects Persistent Fentanyl, Meth in Air and on Surfaces of Public Transit - But Officials Are Totally Chill About It
Breathing deep on public transit in Seattle or Portland, Oregon, while clutching just about anything on board means sucking in methamphetamine and quite likely grabbing hold of some second-hand fentanyl, according to a new study.
As alarming as that sounds, the party line coming out of the University of Washington study is that the levels are too low for riders to become sick.
“While the presence of drugs in a public place may initially seem alarming, we would like to try to put this data in perspective,” the Oregon and Washington Poison Centers said in a joint statement on the study.
“Exposures to the quantities of drug demonstrated in this study are too small to produce physical effects from a short-term exposure that a rider would experience,” they said. “Therefore, individuals who use public transportation for travel needs should continue to feel safe doing so.”
Health officials also pushed back against any panic.
“It’s important to have studies like this one from the University of Washington to help identify when there are new substances that may be circulating in our indoor environments,” Dr. Faisal Khan, director of public health for Seattle and King County, said in a statement, according to Seattle Weekly.
“When someone uses fentanyl or methamphetamine, the concentration of leftover drug in the air is minimal,” Khan said. “Therefore, secondhand exposure to low levels of residue in the air is unlikely to lead to negative health effects.”
A University of Washington news release Thursday said the study focused on five agencies: King County Metro, Sound Transit, Everett Transit and Community Transit, all in Washington, and Tri-Met in the Portland metro area.
The study collected 78 air samples and 102 surface samples. Methamphetamine was detected in all of the air samples and 98 percent of the surface samples, according to the report.
Fentanyl was detected in 25 percent of the air samples and 46 percent of surface samples, it said.
The report noted there are no “enforceable state or federal regulations exist for methamphetamine or fentanyl exposures occurring in a workplace setting.” However, it said, one air sample in the study exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s “occupational exposure guideline for fentanyl in the air,” which is 0.1 micrograms per cubic meter.
“Two of the 102 surface samples exceeded the Washington State Department of Health decontamination guideline established for methamphetamine,” the report said.
“Just because we can measure it in the lab does not necessarily mean that it’s at a level that poses a health risk to operators or riders,” researcher Marissa Baker said, according to Seattle Weekly.
“There isn’t a lot of research as to what levels may cause health effects and after how much time, but at the level seen in this study, there is no clinical evidence of acute medical condition that would result from these passive exposures,” she said.
However, if the combination of short rides and low levels might not mean much to passengers, the long-term impact on drivers is less certain, Baker said in the UW news release.
“A work environment that includes drug use and drug smoke can make it harder for transit operators to safely and effectively do their jobs, regardless of the level of exposure that operators may face,” she said. “This research is important, as it draws attention to the stressors and exposures that these essential workers face.”
Marc Beaudreau, a research industrial hygienist in the UW Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and co-leader of the study, said, “Operators are different from the riding public, because operators are exposed for a much longer time period.”
“The potential long-term health effects associated with daily exposure have not been adequately researched, so until these relationships are established, we’re suggesting protective measures that transit agencies could implement to keep operators safe,” he said.
Baker said the results do not mean there is no impact at all.
“Even at a level that is considered ‘safe,’ it can still be stressful to see drug use in your workplace,” she said. “Taking steps to protect operators will benefit their physical and mental well-being at work.”
According to Axios, King County Metro and Community Transit are using the study as a springboard to improve the air filtration system on buses.
Sound Transit said it will upgrade security.
“No one has the right to violate the law,” said Sound Transit CEO Julie Timm, noting it is illegal to smoke or use drugs on the trains.
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