Retired Subway Cars to Be Sunk Into Ocean Waters to Double as Reefs

1600 retired stainless steel subway cars from NYC are heading to deep waters where they will double as artificial fish habitats. While one source says the environmental impact will be minimal, another says the impact needs to be further studied.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has decided to undertake a $6.3 million project of turning retired New York subway cars into makeshift reefs. The cars are heading to the coastlines of New Jersey, Delaware and other eastern seaboard states. It isn’t uncommon for items such as these to find their way underwater to work as artificial reefs, and Mike Zacchea from the NYC Transit Authority says that the cars will create a "cave-like structure that lets young hatchlings mature." Old ships and railroad ties are also found deep in the nautical world, and 250 retired subway cars have already been submerged into east coast waters since 2001. Dumping them into sea waters seems a better alternative than the $27 million additional dollars it would cost to break down the cars and remove the asbestos, which is inside the cars' interior walls. While some raise concerns of undersea pollution, Lisa Jackson, the New Jersey Environmental Protection Commissioner says the environmental impact of the 600 cars heading to the state's coastal waters would be minimal. That report seems to contradict the Newsday article that says NJ has decided not to take any new cars until a more thorough study is completed on the impact the cars pose to aquatic life. Nevertheless, the cars are scheduled to begin their transport and sinking journey beginning this fall.