Marc Fisher, Washington Post 3/18/07 - Reports on Asbestos Underneath The US Capital Buildings
March 22, 2007 18:16

John Thayer has spent 22 years of his life poking his way through the five miles of scorching, wet, dark tunnels that snake their way under the Capitol, Union Station, the Supreme Court and more than 20 congressional buildings...The federal government's own investigators concluded that the tunnels the men work in each day are lined with exposed asbestos and littered with fallen asbestos debris. Safety specialists said the tunnels should be cleaned out and workers should be equipped with respirators and protective clothing. Thayer and his staff didn't get respirators until last year, and even now they are being exposed to airborne asbestos at more than 30 times the legal limit, according to readings on government monitoring devices. Nine of the 10 workers say lung doctors have told them they exhibit symptoms of asbestos exposure."