Safety panel urges audit of subway tunnels after smoke death

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. safety panel recommended on Wednesday that the federal government conduct a nationwide audit of ventilation systems in mass-transit tunnels after a woman was killed last month when smoke filled a Washington subway car. The National Transportation Safety Board said in its "urgent safety recommendation" that the preliminary findings of its probe of the Washington accident raised questions about ventilation in subway tunnels across the country. The NTSB told the Federal Transit Administration it should audit all rail transit agencies in the United States that have subway tunnels to ensure the ventilation systems are in good repair, that emergency procedures are in place in case of smoke or fire, and employees are properly trained. The FTA said in a statement it was evaluating the safety board's recommendation "to determine the time and resources necessary to complete such an audit." The NTSB has asked for a response within 30 days. The recommendations were also issued to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which operates the Washington-area subway system, and the American Public Transportation Association industry group. In the Washington accident, the 61-year-old woman who died was aboard a subway train that had stopped between stations when heavy smoke filled the tunnel because of an electrical arc involving the third rail. More than 80 other passengers were taken to hospitals, many suffering from smoke inhalation. Two of the four ventilation fans near the incident had tripped an overload circuit breaker and were not working, the NTSB said. The train's operator also failed to shut off the train's ventilation system, which pulls air into the cars. The safety board also said the Washington Metrorail system did not have a way to determine the exact location of a source of smoke in a tunnel, hampering efforts at ventilation. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter Cooney)