(Bloomberg) -- New Yorkers riding the subway this week may be unknowingly part of a government test of the city’s bio-hazard defenses.
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.
The Times Square and Union Square subway stations are planned locations, along with the Oculus transit hub in lower Manhattan.
