Union: Close Ealing Broadway After Asbestos Fell On Platform

5 April 2016, 10:14 | Updated: 11 August 2016, 10:06

The RMT is demanding that Ealing Broadway tube station is closed after roof tiles containing asbestos collapsed this weekend.

Tube staff helped to clear up the mess, unaware that they contained asbestos.

The union then requested monitoring of staff involved and the closure of the station to allow professional removal of the asbestos. They claim the Central Line management said no to both requests.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: "This incident cannot simply be brushed under the carpet. Ealing Broadway station should be closed to enable a proper safety assessment to be carried out and a programme of asbestos removal to be agreed.

"Our members who were involved in the clear-up, without being warned that there was an asbestos hazard, deserve professional support and monitoring.

"RMT will not tolerate this continued sniping away at the safety culture on London Underground and the claim that every time we raise a serious issue it is "scare-mongering". This incident raises real issues and concerns and the union wants them addressed and not ignored."

When materials that contain asbestos are disturbed, fibres are released into the air which can cause fatal lung conditions.