FOI request detail

Zoono

Request ID: FOI-1042-2021
Date published: 17 November 2020

You asked

F/O from 0897-2021 Good afternoon. If you will not send me what I asked for then could you please send me a copy of your report that states it lasts for 30 days yet you’re cleaning every 21 days!!!!! Why????? If you have found that it lasts 30 days why waste all the time and money in doing it all again 9 days early???? The country is in enough mess with money and now more is being wasted!!!! Also why are we using a product in this country that is being sued in the USA for false claims??? It doesn’t smell good to me. When this comes out to the nation and it will the truth does in the end. I for one will be showing all of my findings. It’s also being investigated by major tabloid companies that this product shouldn’t be used yet it is. I look forward to hearing from you.

We answered

TfL Ref 1042-2021

 

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 7 September 2020 asking for information about the antiviral disinfectant spray being used across our network and the report of the findings from  testing by Zoono that indicates the protection lasts for up to 30 days.

 

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require.

 

However, in accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply the information you have requested as it is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 43(2). This information was created solely for the purposes of assessing the product’s use within our specific requirements .

 

Disclosure of the testing results would or would be likely to undermine Zoono’s competitive advantage in the current unprecedented market conditions and is likely to hinder their ability to competitively tender for any similar contracts in future by placing their unique product information into the public domain which would be advantageous to their direct competitors and commercially harmful to them.

 

The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned.  We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, and the interest in this subject more generally, but in this instance the public interest in ensuring that the industry remains competitive and we remain able to obtain the best value for public money outweighs the general public interest in increasing transparency of our processes.

 

By way of further information, Imperial College London carried out swab sampling on escalators and Oyster readers at Waterloo and Euston, on grab handles on a Northern line train and on the push buttons and handrails on a 205 bus, and took air samples at all of them, to test whether any Coronavirus could be detected.

In testing air on the network for Coronavirus, researchers sampled air at a rate of 300L/minute for up to an hour – vastly in excess of the amount of air a person would breathe in that time.

The testing was designed to replicate a typical journey a customer might take during rush hour on busy parts of the network.

All results were negative, with no Coronavirus being detected at any of the sampling sites.

This is an ongoing testing programme.

Earlier findings were part of a separate wider study which also did not find any Coronavirus on surface samples.

If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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