New surveillance video launched by the MBTA exhibits a rider was practically hit by a 25-pound ceiling tile that fell in Harvard station this week.
The water-logged aluminum panel fell about 10 toes, simply because the individual was strolling by, inflicting them to momentarily freeze and lookup earlier than sidestepping the harm and strolling away from the scene.
“We’re extremely fortunate that there wasn’t an injury as a result of this,” MBTA Interim General Manager Jeffrey Gonneville mentioned at a Friday press convention. “It was very close.”
Gonneville mentioned the MBTA is taking this incident, which occurred shortly earlier than 4 p.m. Wednesday, “very seriously, as we do with anything that could potentially impact the safety of our riders and our employees.”
The MBTA is taking steps to take away all comparable soundproofing panels, which have been put in round 1980 in Harvard and different stations, he mentioned, and is conducting a system-wide audit to forestall one other ceiling collapse. The audit will take about two weeks.
Preliminary observations counsel this explicit panel failed resulting from corrosion, which was doubtless brought on by its moist situation that had been “increasing over a number of years,” he mentioned.
As a end result, what ought to have been a 5-pound panel was about 25 kilos on the time of its collapse, Gonneville mentioned.
Ten panels out of the 400 to 500 situated in Harvard station have been eliminated since Wednesday. The focused panels don’t have an effect on the structural integrity of MBTA stations. Rather, their goal is to be aesthetically pleasing and supply sound absorption, he mentioned.
Gonneville mentioned the MBTA will proceed to research this incident and make its findings obtainable to the general public. He famous {that a} 2021 inspection of the Harvard station discovered no defects with most of these soundproofing panels.
But he added that this week’s incident underscores the significance of maintaining with repairs and upkeep throughout the MBTA system, which was recognized as a serious defect in final 12 months’s federal investigation.
“Wednesday’s panel failure is the most recent example of the work we have ahead of us to bring the system back into a state of good repair and provide our riders with the service that they deserve,” Gonneville mentioned.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”