Asbestos in Our Nation’s Capitol: What the Government Isn’t Doing for Maintenance Workers

In Washington, D.C., a little-known government agency, the Architect of the Capitol, oversees the operation of five miles of underground utility tunnels. These tunnels contain the pipes that heat and cool buildings in the U.S. Capitol complex, including the Congress and the Supreme Court.

The ten men responsible for maintaining this underground system, who call themselves the “tunnel rats,” have tried for years for their voice to be heard about their unsafe working conditions. In 1998, when they first became aware that the tunnels were full of asbestos that they breathed in daily, they complained, only to be targeted as troublemakers or worse.

Almost nine years later, with very few positive changes made in the underground tunnels, their voice was finally heard. Their plight was covered by NBC (click here to read the story and see video of the working conditions).

In October 2006, the workers filed a “whistleblower complaint” against the Architect of the Capitol.

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