FILE PICTURE - Commuters stand packed together on a Northern Line underground train at rush hour in London. Pollution on the London tube network is around FIFTEEN times greater than it is above ground, according to a new study. See NATIONAL story NNtube. Researchers from King?s College London carried out the first comprehensive survey of pollution on the Tube, evaluating the exposure of people travelling on different parts of the network. They found that concentrations of fine particles - known as PM2.5 - which are linked to many health issues were far greater on the Underground than in other modes of transport like taking the bus or driving. The study also found that the median concentrations recorded on the Victoria and Northern lines - the most polluted on the network - were greater than any recordings taken on subway systems in New York, Los Angles, Beijing, Guangzhou, Sydney, Seoul or Barcelona. The stations with the most exposure to pollution, and where the researchers are most urgently urging the authorities to intervene, were revealed as Oxford Circus, Waterloo and London Bridge. The District Line and the Docklands Light Railway, large sections of which are above ground, were the lines with the lowest concentration of pollution.
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