Carbon Monoxide Accumulation in Subway Car Kills Rider

Case Overview

This case involves a woman who died while riding the subway system in a major American city. The subway had been stopped inside of a tunnel due to mechanical issues further down the line. Unbeknownst to the riders, the tunnel contained a large amount of carbon monoxide, which continued to accumulate as the train sat stationary in the tunnel. After several minutes had passed, a number of riders began to fall ill, reporting feelings of lightheadedness and confusion. One of the riders subsequently died from carbon monoxide poisoning. It was alleged that the ventilation system in the subway tunnel was inadequately designed to remove harmful gasses from the subway tunnels.

Questions to the Environmental expert and their responses

Do you have experience designing, manufacturing, or inspecting ventilation systems for subway cars or other mass transportation systems?

I have worked on several including a case where a woman who died from carbon monoxide poisoning, and several cases where animals died due to ventilation failure and failure of emergency ventilation systems.

Can you explain how these systems are intended to function in events similar to the one described above?

I can explain how the emergency ventilation system for a subway is intended to operate in the case of smoke and fire events, as well as with the accumulation of harmful gasses generally. I thoroughly understand ventilated air systems, tunnel ventilation fans, indoor air distribution, and the clearance of pollutants from confined spaces using ventilation air exchange. I have advised graduate students on CFD modeling of large interior air spaces.

Do you believe the woman's death may have been preventable had the ventilation system been designed and/or operated differently?

Furthermore, I serve on a committee who writes and approves emergency ventilation standards.

About the expert

This expert has over 40 years of experience in the field of agricultural engineering. He earned his BS and his MS in agricultural engineering from South Dakota State University and his PhD in engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Today, this expert is a licensed professional engineer and is active in multiple professional organizations, including the Air and Waste Management Association, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and the American Association of Aerosol Science. He is also active in academia, having published over 110 peer-reviewed articles, 5 book chapters, and 3 patents related to his research in agricultural engineering. Formerly, this expert served as an associate professor of agricultural engineering at Kansas State University and Purdue University. He also served as a professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue University. Currently, he is the president of an engineering consultancy and a professor emeritus at a university, both in Indiana.