New York City – Today, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn & Queens) renewed his call for the MTA to install bomb proof trash cans in City subway stations.  Over two and a half years since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) first required safer cans, the MTA has yet to comply.

“New technology certified by the Department of Homeland Security would absorb the blast pressures and mitigate the fireball from a bomb set off in a trash can, saving the lives of those standing nearby,” Rep. Weiner wrote in a letter to MTA Chairman Elliot Sander.  “And because the technology is certified, DHS will assume all responsibility for damages should the devices malfunction.”

Bomb cans are constructed from outer and inner steel rings with blast absorbing material sandwiched in between.  The result is a heavily reinforced cylinder that reduces blast pressure from potential explosives, prevents shrapnel from spreading and thwarts fire.

Last March, Rep. Weiner released documents showing that the MTA is out of compliance with a security directive issued by the Department of Homeland Security in May 2004 after the Madrid train bombing.  Under the directive, DHS required all passenger rail operators to replace traditional trash cans with safer cans.

“I hope that the MTA will follow the example of the Washington, DC subway system and move quickly to address this problem, bringing our subway system into compliance with the federal regulations,” Rep. Weiner concluded.

            The full text of Rep. Weiner’s letter to MTA Chairman Sander is attached to this release.

# # #

Elliot Sander

Chairman and CEO

Metropolitan Transportation Authority

347 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Dear Mr. Sander:

            Congratulations on your appointment as Chairman and CEO of the MTA.  I look forward to working with you and Governor Spitzer to ensure that New York’s buses, subways, and ferries get the support they need and deserve from Washington.

            I am writing to follow up on an issue I discussed repeatedly with your predecessor: the danger of explosives being placed in trash cans in our City’s subway stations.

            New technology certified by the Department of Homeland Security would absorb the blast pressures and mitigate the fireball from a bomb set off in a trash can, saving the lives of those standing nearby.  And because the technology is certified, DHS will assume all responsibility for damages should the devices malfunction. 

            I have enclosed the DHS regulations with this letter.