Poor air quality on the London Underground has been a concern to Londoners for some time. The level of dust on the Underground is one of the main concerns, due to the potential health risks it could pose to both passengers and workers.
The London Assembly Environment Committee started an investigation on tube dust in May this year.
Chair of the London Assembly Environment Committee, Caroline Russell AM said:
“While we heard TfL is meeting current standards to protect workers’ respiratory health on the underground, we are challenging how confident TfL is with these standards, especially as they are lower than the World Health Organisation’s guidelines.
“TfL relies on people to clean and minimise tube dust on the London Underground. The RMT Trade Union told the Environment Committee that the cleaners’ exposure to dust and pollution is not monitored, as cleaners are not directly contracted by TfL. This raises concerns as TfL needs to be aware of the impact of poor air quality on all staff working on the Underground.
“The Environment Committee will publish its findings on tube dust once the ongoing investigation is finished but, in the meantime, we’ll be keeping a close eye on TfL’s response to recent investigation findings.”