Capitol tunnel workers have lung disease

It wasn't until last month that Congress invited any of the workers to testify. On March 1, Thayer appeared before the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety's hearing on banning asbestos in the workplace.

"We have worked in and breathed asbestos for decades, and are now beginning to suffer the health consequences," Thayer told that subcommittee. "We are essentially ticking time bombs." Thayer asked Congress to help them get compensation for "the irreparable harm we have suffered," and asked them to ban asbestos from all workplaces "so that no one has to risk their own welfare and that of their families just to earn a living."

“This is Capitol Hill,” said Tommy Baker, the pipefitter, near the end of our interview. “You would think that this is the one place in the world that we wouldn't have this issue, but we do.”

The workers fear that their blowing the whistle about all the tunnel conditions, and the ensuing controversy, could cause them to lose their jobs. Some of those diagnosed with asbestosis worry they could lose their health insurance.

Since they are not legally able as federal employees to sue the government for personal injury, the workers have pursued the only avenue available for possible compensation — the retaliation complaint they filed with the Office of Compliance. That complaint is now in confidential mediation/settlement talks. Their attorneys say that if the Architect of the Capitol forces them to file a lawsuit, the workers will ask the court to compensate them for asbestos-related injuries they claim were caused by their employers “deliberate indifference to their health and safety.”

Meanwhile, the Architect of the Capitol and the Office of Compliance currently are negotiating terms of another settlement — this one a settlement with the Office of Compliance on its complaint about the tunnel conditions. [.PDF link] Sources say these discussions are in the final stages, and a settlement announcement is possible within the next month. Update: On May 9, the Office of Compliance announced a settlement of this complaint. The agreement requires the Architect of the Capitol to "permanently abate" safety and health hazards within five years, and "immediately implement any reasonably necessary interim measures to protect employees." It also establishes a timeline with milestones for completing the work, with monthly follow-up meetings. Marshall, the workers' attorney, said this settlement would have "no effect" on the workers' complaint.

The workers have continued to sound alarms that dangerous levels of asbestos are still being detected in the tunnels, and that asbestos fibers might be floating up from the tunnels to sidewalks and even into some Congressional office buildings. Those alarms have begun to attract attention on Capitol Hill, and prompted letters demanding answers to the Architect of the Capitol from at least two concerned senators.

“Maybe when a Member [of Congress] is affected, or their spouse is affected, or their child is affected,” said Baker, “maybe they'll do something. If it's not you, it's easy not to worry about certain things.”

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