(Bloomberg) -- New Yorkers riding the subway this week may be unknowingly part of a government test of the city’s bio-hazard defenses.
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The assessment, set to run through Oct. 30, will simulate the release of biological agents in a major urban center. That includes pumping non-toxic, “aerosolized and inert tracer gases,” into some of the most densely populated New York City subway stations, according to a memo from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The gases are made up of common ingredients such as table salt and additives found in frosting, beer and soap.
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The Times Square and Union Square subway stations are planned locations, along with the Oculus transit hub in lower Manhattan.
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