London Underground users should know about hidden dust dangers
London Underground users should know about – A former London Underground employee who was unfairly dismissed after raising concerns about toxic dust exposure wants all passengers to be aware of the risks. Micky Steeds, a professional boxer from Aveley in Essex, began working for the transport network in 2018 cleaning decades of accumulated dust from vents, lift shafts, and inverts – the confined channels beneath station platforms. The demanding role left him and fellow workers resembling chimney sweeps.
Steeds described conditions where dust was so dense he could barely see his hands. During one shift at Tottenham Court Road, his cleaning team disturbed enough particulate matter to trigger the station’s fire alarms. Upon learning the dust contained dangerous levels of asbestos alongside chromium, arsenic, silicates, and iron oxide, he began documenting his concerns, according to his employment tribunal.
Protection failures revealed
The tribunal discovered that for the first 15 months of his employment, Steeds received no proper protective mask. He was occasionally issued paper masks that turned black after a single use. Although he eventually received asbestos training, this came only after 19 months of cleaning asbestos-sheathed cables with stiff vacuum brushes.
“We had been smashing it up for nearly two years [before] we did a course on how not to disturb it,” Steeds told the tribunal. He also raised concerns about improper disposal of hazardous waste. In March 2023, he informed a manager: “We’re fucking cowboys here, we’re dumping hazardous waste in general waste bags.”
Steeds noted that procedures required double-bagging and special waste disposal, yet materials were being placed in mixed commercial skips. In May, a judge-led tribunal determined these complaints constituted whistleblowing under the Employment Rights Act 1996, finding his beliefs were “genuine and reasonable.”
Public safety concerns
“Everyone who gets on those trains needs to know about it. People are being put in danger down there,” Steeds stated. London Underground managers had rejected his complaints, maintaining that cleaning practices did not disturb asbestos. However, the tribunal found that “all sites had asbestos reports and it was clearly present and potentially disturbed by dry cleaning.”
The panel also concluded that the transport operator had failed to demonstrate compliance with hazardous waste disposal regulations. It warned that inappropriate disposal “may give rise to criminal and civil liability” and could expose both workers and the public to hazardous materials.
Steeds was dismissed in August 2023 following a period of sick leave for anxiety. The tribunal determined he received an “unfair ultimatum” to either withdraw his complaints or face termination. Evidence showed he had been forced to “accept his complaints were wrong” as a condition for discussing his future at the company.
The judgment confirmed that London Underground had failed to recognize Steeds’ concerns as whistleblowing and had unfairly dismissed him. “The reason, or principal reason, for dismissal was that he made protected disclosures,” the panel concluded.
Michael Ballantyne, Steeds’ solicitor from James & West Law, highlighted the “stigma” facing whistleblowers. “Steeds was viewed as a troublemaker from the start and expected to fall in line. When he stood his ground, [London Underground] closed ranks and Steeds was given an ultimatum: either retract his disclosures or be fired.”
Steeds described the judgment as vindication and his “best achievement” beyond his boxing career. He urged the transport network to properly remove hazardous materials, noting asbestos exists in caulking, cables, and fire doors. He also alleged witnessing bags of hazardous dust being tipped onto tracks to avoid disposal costs.
“The dust used to get dumped on the track. I saw it happening. And when the train goes by – boof – everyone is breathing that shit in. I just want to make people aware of what they are breathing in.”
