Tests to detect asbestos in air of four Barcelona metro stations underway

The Barcelona metro air analysis campaign to check for the presence of asbestos fibers in the tunnels, platforms and public access areas got underway on Friday. 

Driven by the Metropolitan Transport of Barcelona and the Public Health Agency of the city, air samples will be captured in the morning in different points of the stations Plaça Catalunya, Passeig de Gràcia, Liceu, and Torrassa. 

For the first time, the samples of air will be analyzed with an electronic microscope, which offers more accurate and sophisticated readings. 

"Electronic microscopy allows us to analyze the shorter and finer fibers that we are interested in capturing, because they are the ones that can be more easily attached to the lungs," explained the technical director of the analysis company, Lluís Mallart, who plans to present the results before the end of July. 

Metro workers went on strike earlier this year, protesting the unhealthy conditions they are forced to work in, and demanding cleaner air for the city's transport system.