Safety Underground

korea 004

Respirators in the subway, ‘just in case’.  Do you feel safer, or less safe having seen them?  I suspect many people will feel safer because someone is thinking of these things, and looking out for ‘safety’.  However, a respirator needs to fit properly to work – and it needs to be put on before you are exposed.  These were on the concourse of the station, a flight of stairs below the platform.  I found this unsettling, and it made me wonder:

  1. Are these meant for people on the platform and subway?  If so, how would they get upstairs to them without breathing?
  2. How would these fit children, very large people, and folks with beards?
  3. Do people know how to put them on and test them? Would they do it properly in an emergency?
  4. Are there enough for all the people in the station, or would scarcity be a trigger for violence?
  5. What types of gases do these protect against?
  6. Are these actually meant for rescue or response workers, and if so, why don’t they have their own fitted gear?

Overall I think this is not an effective control, but I’d be happy to hear the whole story form someone who can read the sign or knows the deal.