London Underground staff exposed to asbestos without masks

Hundreds of London Underground workers may have been exposed to asbestos without the protective masks required by safety regulations for almost two decades. Emails and meeting minutes suggest that individually fitted face masks were not provided to some staff until late 2020, despite rules introduced in 2002 mandating such precautions for employers dealing with hazardous materials.

Compensation and Legal Costs

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Transport for London (TfL), the body responsible for the Underground, has already incurred costs exceeding £7 million in asbestos-related compensation payouts and legal expenses. This situation potentially exposes TfL to further significant legal claims.

The documents emerged during an employment tribunal case brought by Micky Steeds, a former cleaner. Mr Steeds was successful in his claim of unfair dismissal after he raised concerns about his exposure to asbestos and other hazardous dust.

Managerial Admissions

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Meeting minutes reveal that managers acknowledged issues with mask provision. In one instance, a manager had no record of face-fitted masks being issued in 2018 to a team cleaning dust from vents, which contained asbestos-sheathed cables. These masks were reportedly not introduced to the civils teams, responsible for all tube buildings, until late 2020.

Another manager, who headed lifts and escalators in December 2020, stated that "a lot of people aren’t face-fitted" and admitted that "staff shouldn’t have worked without face fit, but it has happened," attributing the failure to a lack of training.

An email from 2019 indicated that allowing Mr Steeds to work without a fitted mask was an oversight that would be corrected. Furthermore, a manager admitted in a 2023 email that asbestos dust fibre sampling, a legal requirement, had not been conducted.

Asbestos Presence and Testing

TfL's network contains over 20,000 recorded asbestos-containing materials. While TfL maintains that strict controls are in place and test results show asbestos levels below exposure limits, a senior engineer acknowledged in December 2022 that dust being cleaned occasionally contained asbestos fibres.

However, Mr Steeds and a former colleague noted that testing was not performed during the disturbance of asbestos. Minutes from staff-manager meetings also highlighted problems with damaged asbestos, with one cleaner estimating he encountered asbestos on cables 90% of the time, sometimes in broken chunks.

Legal Implications and Worker Concerns

Catriona Ratcliffe, a solicitor specialising in personal injury, stated that damaged asbestos materials increase the risk of fibre release. She suggested the documents in Mr Steeds' case could lead to more injury claims, particularly if employers knew of exposure risks and failed to implement required precautions, such as face-fitted masks.

Mr Steeds, who worked for 15 months without a proper mask, expressed anger, stating: "Over the years, TfL must have put the health of hundreds of workers at risk by failing in their legal duty to provide fitted masks." He added that his concerns were ignored and attempts were made to cover them up.

Rob Donnan, a former cleaner appealing an employment tribunal's decision against his unfair dismissal claim, estimated that up to 80 cleaners in the vents department and an additional 300 staff in the escalator department may have worked without fitted masks between 2002 and 2020.

TfL's Position

A spokesperson for TfL stated that strict controls are in place, in line with government regulations, to ensure the safety of staff and the public. They added that specialist teams monitor asbestos locations on the network. TfL declined to comment further as they are appealing against Mr Steeds' tribunal ruling.