AP Features, February 1st, 2007
Falling slabs of concrete and asbestos exposure are two reasons that a federal agency should investigate the passages under the U.S. Capitol complex amid an ongoing safety dispute with the Architect of the Capitol, a group of tunnel workers said Thursday.
They said they asked National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a branch of the Centers for Disease Control, for an evaluation of health hazards in the underground warren.
The 10 workers who raised this issue Thursday are responsible for maintaining the plumbing that provides steam and chilled water to Congressr, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court and other federal buildings and they work for the Architect of the Capitol.
David Marshall, an attorney representing the workers, said the architect's office had known for years that the asbestos levels in the tunnels were unacceptably high and were affecting the health of workers. The architect's office started requiring respirators when the asbestos danger came to light last year, Marshall said.
Some members of the group have worked in the tunnels for 20 years, he added.
A spokeswoman for the Architect of the Capitol did not immediately return a request for comment.
The NIOSH complaint is the latest development in a dispute between the workers and the AOC over safety conditions in the tunnels. The workers last year appealed for help to members of Congress and began attending Senate hearings on the issue, at which they spoke to reporters. They also asked senators for support in obtaining medical treatment and transportation so that they could be evaluated by a Detroit doctor considered a leading expert on asbestos-related illness.
The workers have alleged that the architect's office retaliated against them for making their complaints public. They are not covered by the Whistleblower Protection Act, which applies to executive branch employees.
___
Architect of the Capitol: http://www.aoc.gov
Government Accountability Project: http://www.whistleblower.org
National Institutes for Occupational Safety and Health: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html
