Capitol Tunnel Workers to Receive Award

December 14, 2006 - The Associated Press reports that a group of 10 embittered tunnel workers from the U.S. Capitol will receive a reward for their courage in reporting asbestos concerns, despite harassment from their superiors.

The men, who say they’ve been consistently exposed to friable asbestos during their work in the tunnels, will receive the Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage, established in 1990 to honor those who take a public stance to advance truth at personal risk.

According to the AP article, the award “comes amid a continuing dispute with the Architect of the Capitol's office over their medical treatment and a pending case before the congressional Office of Compliance alleging they faced retaliation after making their safety concerns public.”

The steamfitters went public with their complaints this past February, and since then, the Architect of the Capitol’s office has been cited with failure to take steps to remove safety hazards in the tunnels, which are quite old and in ill-repair.  An attorney for the 10 men notes that the architect’s office has known for years about the presence of asbestos in the tunnels and the dangers it presents, but did nothing to protect workers who were in and out of the tunnels every day.

The men have thus far asked the architect’s office for compensation for medical expenses and transportation to Detroit, where they can consult with a leading expert in asbestos-related disease.  Thus far, their request has been denied, though the Architect of the Capitol has offered to send the men to two local doctors for evaluation.  The men have refused and 3 of them have already traveled to Detroit on their own, where they were found to have scarring and plaque in the lungs, which is consistent with asbestos exposure and the development of asbestos-related diseases.

The workers also claim that, after the complaint, the architect's office retaliated against them by “describing them as troublemakers to members of Congress, threatening their jobs and cutting off supplies they need to work in an environment where the temperature can exceed 130 degrees.”