AFSCME Cites Safety Hazards to U.S. Capitol Workers

January 01, 2006

 Thanks to Local 2910 (Council 26), Congress is now paying attention to health and safety issues affecting workers on Capitol Hill.

At a recent hearing, senators were outraged to learn that utility workers have been exposed to carcinogenic asbestos and falling concrete from dilapidated ceilings and walls for six years. Architect Alan Hantman testified that the Architect of the Capitol (AoC) had no knowledge of asbestos inside the tunnels until 2005. But Terrell Dorn, co-director of physical infrastructure of the General Accounting Office, disputed Hantman's assertion. Dorn said that members of the Office of Compliance had notified the AoC of concerns about asbestos as early as 2000.

"The asbestos has been down there for 50 years," says Tommy Baker, a member of the 10-person tunnel team. Baker considers the asbestos exposure a threat to him and his family. "You carry stuff like that home in your clothes, and your wife does your laundry, if your kids run up and give you a hug — you take that exposure home." (AoC tunnel employees speak out after asbestos hearing) Adds Nan Thompson Ernst, health and safety officer of Local 2910: "Asbestos fibers from deteriorating pipes and utility tunnels are airborne and workers breathe them into their lungs. Management must be held accountable for neglecting these serious hazards."

Carl Goldman, Council 26 executive director, was also livid that the workers have been exposed to a harmful work environment. "The fact that AoC wasn't doing regular testing after being apprised of this hazard borders on the criminal," he says.

As a result of AFSCME's advocacy and public pressure, the U.S. Senate has appropriated $100 million to fix the problem. But Local 2910 is not letting up. "Exposure can take years to show some kind of medical evidence," Ernst explains. "It's a long-term commitment to monitor employees who have had extended exposure to asbestos. And we're in it for the long haul."