Micky Steeds, a former London Underground cleaner, has warned passengers about the dangers of toxic dust on the Tube network after winning an unfair dismissal case. Steeds was sacked for raising concerns about inadequate protection and disposal of hazardous waste, including asbestos, during his work cleaning dust from vents, lift shafts, and inverts—confined channels beneath station platforms for cabling.
Tribunal vindicates health concerns
An employment tribunal found that Steeds' complaints were protected disclosures under the Employment Rights Act 1996, and his beliefs were "genuine and reasonable." The tribunal ruled that London Underground unfairly dismissed him and failed to treat his concerns as whistleblowing. Steeds, a former professional boxer from Aveley, Essex, started working for London Underground in 2018. He described the job as filthy, leaving him and colleagues looking like chimney sweeps. The dust was sometimes so thick he could not see his hands. On one shift at Tottenham Court Road, the cleaning gang disturbed so much dust it set off the station's fire alarms.
Lack of protective equipment
Steeds discovered the dust could contain dangerous levels of asbestos, chromium, arsenic, silicates, and iron oxide. For the first 15 months, he was not fitted with a proper protective mask, sometimes using paper masks that became blackened with dust. He received training on handling asbestos 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," he told the tribunal.
Hazardous waste disposal concerns
Steeds also raised alarms about hazardous waste disposal. In March 2023, he told a manager: "We're fucking cowboys here, we're dumping hazardous waste in general waste bags. I have looked at the information and we are supposed to be double bagging and disposing this as special waste, but it's being put in a mixed commercial general skip." The tribunal found that London Underground fell short of demonstrating compliance on hazardous waste disposal, noting that failure to dispose appropriately may give rise to criminal and civil liability. It added that this "may lead to other workers, and the public generally, being exposed to hazardous waste, including asbestos."
Whistleblower dismissal
Steeds was sacked in August 2023 after being signed off work with anxiety. The tribunal found he was given an "unfair ultimatum" to retract his complaints and return to work, or be dismissed. The judgment said London Underground had unfairly dismissed him, with the principal reason being that he made protected disclosures. Michael Ballantyne, Steeds' solicitor from James & West Law, said the case showed 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," he said.
Public awareness call
Steeds urged passengers to be aware of the risks. "Everyone who gets on those trains needs to know about it. People are being put in danger down there," he said. He alleged witnessing bags of hazardous dust being tipped on tracks to avoid carrying them. "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," he said. "I just want to make people aware of what they are breathing in. It's not just dust, it's hazardous waste and they don't know that. I personally don't travel on the tube. I'd rather get a bus." London Underground is planning to appeal against the judgment. A Transport for London spokesperson said: "We have strict controls in place, in line with the government's control of asbestos regulations, which ensure customers and staff are not at risk from exposure to asbestos when travelling or working on the tube network. Our specialist teams monitor and manage locations where asbestos has been found to ensure the safety of everyone travelling or working on the network."
