Unions give safety ultimatum to Tube bosses

The Tube's two most powerful unions have joined forces in giving London Underground a 14-day deadline to provide safety assurances for the Waterloo & City line - or they will close it down.

Their warning follows the discovery of arsenic and carcinogenic contaminants in the track bed of the line - the one-stop link between Waterloo and Bank stations which is used by about 40,000 commuters a day.

Some services have been cancelled as drivers refuse to work on the line.

A confidential report by a specialist firm last November confirms the presence of highly poisonous arsenic along with lead, zinc, nickel and chromium particles.

Union leaders are furious that LU has only just revealed the contents of the report. Steve Grant of train drivers' union Aslef said; "We are very concerned for our drivers who have to work in this environment - we have not received any assurance from LU that it is safe."

While the report emphasises that levels of arsenic are low, it confirms there could be a "risk exposure" to staff working in the track.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT union, said the report "has caused considerable concern" for workerson the line. He demanded a special meeting of LU's health and safety committee take place in the next 14 days and said Tube bosses must give a full explanation of how they intend to remove the contaminants.

A senior union source said; "Unless satisfactory answers are given to a number of key issues we will close the line."