Nothern line (Modern branch) asbestos survey/register
Request ID: FOI-1937-2324 Date published: 28 September 2023
You asked
Dear TFL, could you please provide the latest asbestos survey(s) and register for the section of the nothern line starting from Morden ending at Camden town ( via angel section only) Please provide the documents as a zip file.
Thank you
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-1937-2324
Thank you for your request which we received on 4 September 2023, asking for information about asbestos on the Northern Line (via Angel Station).
Could you please provide the latest asbestos survey(s) and register for the section of the northern line starting from Morden ending at Camden town (via Angel section only) Please provide the documents as a zip file.
Note that due to the age of the Underground, asbestos is found in a number of locations on the network. However, in public areas the vast majority of Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) are contained behind station finishes and cannot be accessed by the general public. Where ACMs are found in public areas, they are located where they cause no risk to the general public or staff. All stations are re-inspected on a periodic basis to ensure that no damage has been caused to change this status. If, in the very rare case it is assessed and the status has changed for any reason, then a risk assessment is undertaken which will result in either encapsulation, encasement, or removal.
TfL has processes and procedures in place to ensure that the management of asbestos is carried out in compliance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Some of the main requirements that London Underground delivers under the regulations are listed below:
• Identify the location and condition of hazardous materials • Maintain an asbestos register with known, presumed or strongly presumed asbestos • Assess and manage the risk of exposure • Prepare, implement, review & monitor the management plan to manage the risks • Regularly inspect known instances of asbestos • Provide information on the location and condition of the material to anyone who is likely to disturb it • Carry out management, refurbishment and / or pre-demolition surveys when required • Carry out airborne fibre monitoring where necessary • Maintain records detailing when and where asbestos is removed, treated and disposed • Request and retain Waste Consignment Note upon transportation of Hazardous Materials to Hazardous Waste Landfill site • Hold relevant Asbestos Management Qualifications
It is London Underground’s policy to continue to safely manage ACMs in-situ, through continued management surveys, re-inspections, risk assessments and pre-work Refurbishment & Demolition (R&D) surveys. We also carry out airborne fibre monitoring for asbestos for reassurance during work on or near to asbestos containing materials.
Please find the attached data from our Asbestos Register which shows all occurrences of asbestos on the Northern line, including presumed and strongly presumed.
However, given the extent of the information your request captures, we are applying Regulation 12(4)(b) to your request for individual copies of asbestos surveys, as we believe that it is ‘manifestly unreasonable’. Providing all this information would impose unreasonable costs on us and require an unreasonable diversion of resources. There are, potentially, a large amount of documents that would be covered by your request. To collate all of the material that falls within the scope of your request would be an excessively time consuming task.
The use of this exception is subject to a public interest test, whichrequires us to consider whether the public interest in applying the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosure. We recognise thatthe release of information would promote accountability and transparencyin public services and also help address your particular concerns aboutthis issue. However, the time it would take to provide the information youhave requested would divert a disproportionate amount of our resourcesfrom its core functions and on balance we consider that the publicinterest currently favours the use of the exception.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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
Eva Hextall FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
