Capitol Tunnel Workers to Testify About Asbestos

February 28, 2007 - The supervisor of the Capitol Hill power plant utility tunnels will testify before a Senate panel Thursday about his exposure to asbestos and other hazardous working conditions while working as a Capitol Hill employee, according to an article in The Hill, a newspaper about the U.S. Congress.

John Thayer’s testimony at the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) employment and workforce subcommittee hearing will mark the first time one of the ten tunnel employees will testify about their long-term exposure to deadly asbestos dust in the passageways underneath the U.S. Capitol.

“It’s the first time tunnel workers [will be quoted] in the legislative record,” said Jillian Aldebron, an attorney working with the tunnel crew. “It’s the first time they have been invited to testify.”

Thayer says he will tell the subcommittee about the poor working conditions in the 5 miles of tunnels that snake under the Capitol building and about his health and how it has deteriorated over the years, most likely due to on-the-job exposure to asbestos.

“What I want the senators to know is that the tunnel workers didn’t put the asbestos in the tunnels and that somebody needs to be held responsible for the conditions that we work in,” Thayer said yesterday. “There is a lack of upper management with the ability to monitor the maintenance of the asbestos that is already present inside [government buildings].”

The article notes that Subcommittee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is due to reintroduce a bill that would ban the importation and production of asbestos in the United States.  She and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, will be staging a press conference this week to introduce the legislation.  They’ve invited Thayer to speak at the press conference.