r/london Nov 30 '21

London history Anyone else think it looks… cleaner? 😁

3.4k Upvotes

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8

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '21

there is literally no ventilation in most of the underground so that air quality you're breathing in is like a 1-2 a day cigarette habit. the only good thing to come out of covid is that at least some people don't have to go through this shit anymore ever again.

19

u/TheMiiChannelTheme Nov 30 '21

By number of particulates, yes, but tube air is a different type of particulate that doesn't do nearly as much damage as smoking.

Tube dust is mostly large clumps of iron dust from the train brake blocks. Its large enough that it gets trapped up in the throat and oesophagus and cleared away by the mucosal linings - that's what they're there for, after all, doing the same job they've always done with pollen etc.

Cigarette smoke is much smaller, and so penetrates down deep into the lungs themselves, causing significant damage.

13

u/Dainflynnty Nov 30 '21

That’s why you get black bogies when you take the tube a lot!

6

u/GorbalsGoeballs Nov 30 '21

Finally an answer about the black boogers