I posted this in the Commuter threads as well...

I rode home from Manhattan to Queens on the QBB on Tuesday (As I have regularly for the past 10 years) and felt all kinds of scratchiness in my throat - was coughing most of the way home. felt okay later that night.

Yesterday I took the train, but this morning when I rode to work past the Sunnyside train yards, the same thing happened - I was coughing all the way across the bridge into Manhattan. As of 11:00 AM my throat is still scratchy and I have a splitting headache, not to mention feeling a little nauseous.

I saw several other cyclists Tuesday and this morning - no one else appeared to be coughing....has anyone else in the area noticed this or had similar symptoms recently?

I feel ill riding anywhere in the 5 boroughs. If the symptoms continue, get yourself checked out by a dr. Maybe you breathed in some fumes from the cars.

I feel ill riding anywhere in the 5 boroughs. If the symptoms continue, get yourself checked out by a dr. Maybe you breathed in some fumes from the cars.

Maybe - but as I said, I've been doing this for 10 years - now, in the last two days, I got these symptoms, in exactly the same place (I was fine in both cases until I got to Queens Plaza area)...

I am thinking there must be some kind of construction, etc going on there now - I checked the air quality reports for NYC - pollen is high but overall air quality is deemed good. I doubt pollen is concentrated near a bridge and train yard!

I'm not one to diagnose anything, but sounds like you inhaled something near that area. Any major contruction going on? Buildings are being torn down all over the place, and Carbon monoxide can give you headaches. There are alot of contaminants in the air, and things kicking up all over. Air quality report is great for pollen and ozone, but it's not going to tell you what's going on in a specific area.

How close is the Con Ed smokestack?

How close is the Con Ed smokestack?

Astoria

I'm not one to diagnose anything, but sounds like you inhaled something near that area. Any major contruction going on? Buildings are being torn down all over the place, and Carbon monoxide can give you headaches. There are alot of contaminants in the air, and things kicking up all over. Air quality report is great for pollen and ozone, but it's not going to tell you what's going on in a specific area.

exactly - I checked local news reports online - nothing. I'm trying to think of an alternate route to go home (short of hauling the bike onto the train) but this is a major inconvenience...be nice to know what exactly is going on, and how long it'll be happening....

Of course, I'm primarily interested in not dying!

were they doing maintenance on the bridge?
NYC has some bridges that are way overdue for general maintenance.
from my window I always see a wire steel platform bucket under the Manhattan bridge.
Use a respirator is you need to.

Ever wonder why the construction guys are wearing masks while they're stripping and painting the bridge?

I cross the Queensboro Bridge to and from work every day. No coughing, but the stench from the motor traffic and the construction guys at work make me think I'm an absolute fool for not wearing a respirator.

were they doing maintenance on the bridge?


every day for 9 years!

Ever wonder why the construction guys are wearing masks while they're stripping and painting the bridge?

I cross the Queensboro Bridge to and from work every day. No coughing, but the stench from the motor traffic and the construction guys at work make me think I'm an absolute fool for not wearing a respirator.

+1

but I've never had a reaction like this ....and this is happening on the ground, not on the bridge.

I just sent a letter to my local Congressman about it.

How close is the Con Ed smokestack?
Astoria
Hmm. I thought those red and white stacks were just a couple of blocks from the bridge.
Seems that way on google maps.

Hmm. I thought those red and white stacks were just a couple of blocks from the bridge.
Seems that way on google maps.

You must be right. I thought there were some over in Astoria.

I gotta say, I find it highly unlikely that there is any sort of unique particulates or pollution near the bridge, let alone something that would have affected only you. Anything serious enough to make a moving cyclist feel ill in a quarter-mile radius would definitely affect people in that area. (And yes, there are people around there....)

I mean, think about the fact that tons of people report an apparently harmless maple-syrup smell. (http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/05/the_maple_syrup_smell_returns.html) Anything that would make you sick several days in a row would almost certainly get reported by now.

Also, there are a few hundred reasons why you could get a scratchy throat or other symptoms. You could have the start of a summer cold, exercise-induced asthma, whatever.

The closest possibility I can imagine to what you're thinking is that you are becoming more sensitive to pollution and exhaust. And yes, that can certainly happen, especially after repeated exposures.

If it keeps up, don't write your congressman. See your doctor.

Ironically I had my annual checkup today anyway...my doc thought it might just be pollen...
I rode home with a mask in my jersey pocket just in case....but I was fine. I stopped to say hello to TA who were giving out donuts and smiles....it helped!!

bizarre.....

... I stopped to say hello to TA who were giving out donuts and smiles....

mmm... magic donut...

I saw the little table with the TA Queens folk as I was heading home tonight as well. I had just come out of nearly 3 hours of back to back meetings and I missed my late afternoon snack (look, don't get between me and my snacks, OK!?!). Ravenous. At first, all I saw were maps and stuff, then... donuts. I stopped. How polite would I need to be to snag myself a donut to sugar myself up and fend off starvation? I needed an excuse. I'd stop, say hi, grab a map and maybe... just maybe... oh sure, if you insist, a DONUT!

Score.

I know - I felt bad, I only took half a doughnut... (I skipped lunch too - had to go the Dr.)

I had to keep cutting off the nice young woman who was greeting me (already a TA member, already going to do the Century, etc.....but yes, I WILL take a doughnut!!:roflmao2:)

I also made sure to tell them about my respiratory debacle...just in case they or any other cyclists experienced it around there....(or course, now they think I'm insane - probably not so far off the mark)

BTW I rode through the area with no issues this morning, but I did take a prophylactic Clarinex last night, as suggested by my MD....seemed to do the trick.

May want to call 311. They can at least do a check of the air to see if there's something in there. And if there is at least you'll have a log to refer to.

thanks - dunno why I didn't think of that (pollution-specific brain damage?)

for the record, I did call 311 about two years ago because I too smelled that maple syrup mystery wind in NYC...I SWEAR I'm NOT crazy!!:twitchy:

*waves hand* There is no maple syrup smell.

Working outside in midtown yesterday morning I did experience the raspy throat and running nose thing, Probably pollen, Bryant Park is loaded with it.

I'd think of that first if I was in a park.

There are some trees near Queens Plaza, of course - but not that many.....who knows?

I don't worry about the little things. I have 9-11 exposure on record.

Railroad yards release a very large amount of air pollution.

I've been riding the Queensborough Bridge every day lately, and haven't noticed anything funny.

This should probably be a new thread, but anyone feel ill with the latest batch of stories of illnesses and evacuations?

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&nolr=1&q=sunnyside+train+yards&btnG=Search

Suspicious odors cause complaints/evacuations lawsuits in buildings of every borough every single day. I am an industrial hygienist and a former smoke stack tester. There is no way that the work on the bridge or the smokestacks could possibly be having an effect on your respiratory system. You are outdoors and only riding by for a few minutes. More likely you have a slight cold and you are exerting yourself on the bridge more so than on other parts of the commute.

I am an industrial hygienist and a former smoke stack tester. There is no way that the work on the bridge or the smokestacks could possibly be having an effect on your respiratory system.

Oh, I feel much better now.

Just to be clear - I feel fine this week. But I absolutely felt like death that week or so a while back ....

I understand there is a difference between sitting around the toxins all day long, and zooming through for a few minutes.

Either way, we shouldn't be exposed. There are methods to clear them safely - they just cost money and take time, I gather....factor in stupidity and some miserly bean counting weighed against the risk of potential law suits, and you have this type of crap happening. Good to spread the word. If you can avoid that route till they nail down the problem, do it. If you die of mesothelioma, et al, at least your spouse/children can have the benefit of suing the responsible parties' asses.

wow I gotta stop drinking so much coffee......:twitchy:

Just fyi, the bldng evacuated last week was on Northern Blvd. - explains why I didn't smell anything as I come in along Skillman. Maybe the wind just blew it that way or it was closer to Northern ....just fyi...

http://www.qgazette.com/news/2008/0924/features/017.html

(scroll down past first story)

Generally an evacuation like this one is the result of engine ehausted being collected by the intake vent of a building's HVAC system. Thus, the deisel exhaust of a single (or a couple) vehicles can be concentrated within a building causing a palpable odor. This does not mean that the entire outdoors is polluted. There are trains/construction projects throughout the city and you don't see people fleeing for their lives. You are barking up the wrong tree here.

Beg pardon, but I ain't barking up anything....in case of OP, I rode past there three days in a row and felt like someone had poured barbed wire into my lungs....then, after that, nothing. That's not a good sign, sorry...

Updated case (With link - did you read?) : recent excavation is likely cause of evacuation...Trains go by there every freaking day; why evacuate all of a sudden?

I ride down Skillman every day and there was a new builder's barrier put up in the past month. Stuff does go on there, and nasty stuff will occasionally get stirred up (and released into the air) when it does happen.

Queensborough Plaza has routinely been cited as one of the most polluted areas in the city, as measured by the EPA. Makes sense when you consider all the various forms of traffic there, but we still have to be vigilant about this.

When you see the cops directing traffic there wearing Face masks, that's a good bet there is no 'wrong tree barking' in play here.

You know what pal, believe what you want. Obviously you don't want expert advice on the subject. You'd rather have cycling enthusiasts patting you on the back and telling you that something should be done. I did read the article by the way and it is unlikely that the excavation would have poisoned you while riding the bridge. Pretty much the only things that come out of the ground capable of acutely poisoning you would be volatile organic compounds and they have a very strong chemical odor. Take it from someone who has been doing air monitoring for years, if you didn't smell anything that most likely means nothing is there.

My thought is that its the paint they are using. I passed a painter on my way home and its a tough smell. Then again we all react differently to these things.

Obviously you don't want expert advice on the subject.

Yeah, experts have such a good track record on this kind of stuff.

I worked for a while out of the Jenson Filtration Plant in LA, patrolling pipelines, and I come from a water family. I'm not an expert like you (but then, who is?) but I've been around enough to see them shift blame when suddenly, oops, looks like two parts per million wasn't as safe as those other guys told us it was. But that's not our fault, it's theirs, the people who set the standards. We just enforce them. They told us it was safe, so that's where we drew the line. Their line, not ours.

And gee, all those group-action lawsuits. And hmm, maybe those recent crane collapses in NYC when the experts who were supposed to be watching out for the public welfare took bribes to falsify their data.

So maybe you'll understand why stomping around and getting sarcastic about what an expert you are doesn't seem to be impressing anybody. You want respect for your position, try explaining it instead of just insisting.

And gee, all those group-action lawsuits. And hmm, maybe those recent crane collapses in NYC when the experts who were supposed to be watching out for the public welfare took bribes to falsify their data.



Are you suggesting that the city is bribing me to post on Bike forums?

no?

Are you suggesting that the city is bribing me to post on Bike forums?

Something's got to counterbalance my wife bribing me not to.

And gee, all those group-action lawsuits. And hmm, maybe those recent crane collapses in NYC when the experts who were supposed to be watching out for the public welfare took bribes to falsify their data.

So maybe you'll understand why stomping around and getting sarcastic about what an expert you are doesn't seem to be impressing anybody. You want respect for your position, try explaining it instead of just insisting.

Not to mention Ground Zero 'safety' all-clears...

What Neoton said above - I don't know who you are or where you work or what your training is. I am sure you know what you're talking about....but even the best doctors are mistaken sometimes - when a patient tells them something is wrong, they'd be pretty foolish to insists the textbook is right.

I basically am trying to get to work & back everyday - I assure you no one is bribing me to complain about stanky air. And as far as I can tell, it does not compromise your position in the slightest if I or another rider exercises caution or makes inquiries.