Religions > Atheism > ‘Tunnel rats’ file complaint against Capitol Workers who service D.C. utility tunnels claim they were retaliated against
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Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"stoney" |
| Date: |
18 Oct 2006 06:22:14 PM |
| Object: |
‘Tunnel rats’ file complaint against Capitol Workers who service D.C. utility tunnels claim they were retaliated against |
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15319828/
‘Tunnel rats’ file complaint against Capitol
Workers who service D.C. utility tunnels claim they were retaliated
against
NBC News Investigative Unit
Updated: 3:04 p.m. ET Oct. 18, 2006
WASHINGTON - Ten U.S. Capitol tunnel workers filed a whistleblower
complaint Wednesday against their employer, the Architect of the
Capitol.
The workers service utility tunnels beneath the U.S. Capitol complex,
maintaining the plumbing systems that provide steam and chilled water to
Congress, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, and other federal
buildings. The workers, who are officially known as Tunnel Shop
employees, call themselves "the Tunnel Rats."
According to their attorneys, the workers allege that they were
retaliated against after they informed members of Congress and the media
about falling concrete, high temperatures, unsafe levels of asbestos and
other toxins, and other dangerous working conditions in the five miles
of utility tunnels.
In an Aug. 21 report on “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,” {1}
{http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14454607/}
Lisa Myers and the NBC News Investigative Unit reported on the workers'
claims. Documents obtained by the Investigative Unit showed that
Congress has been warned of asbestos and other "potentially life
threatening safety and health violations" in the tunnels since 2000.
Federal investigators recently found that overall conditions in the
tunnels pose an "imminent danger" to the workers, and that the Architect
of the Capitol "effectively ignored" safety warnings for six years.
The NBC News Investigative Unit also obtained a sample of dust from
inside the tunnels, and had the sample tested at a nationally renowned
lab. The test indicated 30-40 percent concentrations of asbestos,
considered extremely dangerous. Federal investigators also found
comparably dangerous levels of asbestos.
In a press release Wednesday, the lawyers charged that the Architect of
the Capitol "knowingly exposed [the tunnel workers] to these hazards ...
[and] forced them to work for decades with little or no protective gear
.... resulting in progressive and life-threatening asbestos disease."
Some members of the tunnel crew have worked unprotected in these
conditions for 20 years. In 2000, the Office of Compliance sent a memo
to the Architect of the Capitol stating: "[the Architect of the Capitol]
needs to take action to prevent tunnel workers from breathing airborne
asbestos." Despite that warning and others, it wasn't until March that
tunnel workers were told to wear protective masks.
Some workers already have documented health problems they believe were
caused by asbestos exposure. One test indicated that one of the tunnel
workers had the "lungs of a 118-year-old."
According to a statement by the Government Accountability Project, a
Washington-based whistleblower protection organization also representing
the tunnel workers, the workers "were subjected to repeated retaliation
and a hostile work environment" for exposing the unsafe working
conditions and environmental hazards earlier this year.
The complaint, filed Oct. 18, accuses the Architect of the Capitol of
"deliberate indifference" in exposing the tunnel workers to unsafe
hazards. It makes specific charges about retaliation, alleging that
Architect of the Capitol management:
*
confronted workers and demanded to know which had written letters
to Congress about unsafe working conditions;
*
publicly disparaged workers as irresponsible "hotheads" who are
"difficult," "insubordinate" and not "team players";
*
harassed workers for seeking independent medical testing;
*
denied workers an appropriate level of hazard pay; and
*
considered trying to fire all the workers.
Accompanied by their attorneys, the workers hand-delivered the complaint
to the Office of Compliance, located at a Library of Congress building
in downtown Washington. The Office of Compliance is an independent
non-partisan agency established to administer and enforce the
Congressional Accountability Act (CAA). The tunnels and the tunnel
workers are the responsibility of the U.S. Congress.
In a press conference with the workers and their attorneys after the
filing of the complaint, attorney Joanne Royce said: "At least since
1999, members of this tunnel crew have raised the issue of the dangerous
and horrifying conditions under which they work up their chain of
command to no avail. The Architect of the Capitol has largely ignored
their concerns."
Royce is general counsel for the Government Accountability Project.
Tunnel Workers' Complaint submitted to the Office of Compliance;
http://www.kmblegal.com/pdfs/cases/OOCComplaint_101806.pdf
After the press conference, the workers delivered a letter to Sen.
Richard Durbin, D-Ill., asking Congress to direct the government to pay
for diagnostic medical tests for all the workers. Durbin held hearings
earlier this year before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee which
addressed the workers' allegations. But, according to the workers and
their attorneys, the hearings led to increased retaliation and
harassment for the workers.
In a statement Wednesday, the Architect of the Capitol's communications
office would not comment on the tunnel workers complaint, citing a
policy not to comment on matters before the Office of Compliance because
of confidentiality requirements. The Architect of the Capitol's
statement said that "safety remains as always a top priority for the
Architect of the Capitol." It also said that the Architect of the
Capitol "continues to implement measures that address structural,
communication, asbestos, heat stress, and egress issues" cited in a
previous Office of Compliance complaint and citations earlier this year.
It referred to "action plans" discussed during the congressional
hearings.
{1}
Danger lurks below U.S. Capitol
Tunnels underneath Congress contain asbestos, endanger workers
By Douglas Pasternak, Lisa Myers & the NBC Investigative Unit
Updated: 3:06 p.m. ET Aug. 22, 2006
WASHINGTON - Inside tunnels that snake their way for miles, huge slabs
of concrete fall from ceilings and white powder coats some pipes and
floors. But it’s not all dust. Much of it is asbestos — harmful fibers
that can scar lungs and, potentially, cause death. Ten men work down in
these tunnels every day, where temperatures often exceed 150 degrees.
They call themselves “the tunnel rats.”
Federal investigators recently found that conditions in the tunnels pose
an “imminent danger” to the workers, and that the owner of the tunnels
had “effectively ignored” safety warnings for six years. So who owns
these tunnels? The United States Congress.
The labyrinth of six tunnels — some of them nearly 100 years old —
provide steam and chilled water to Congress and other federal buildings,
including the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court. Four of the 10
tunnel workers — interviewed by NBC News — believe they have been
exposed to asbestos and have worked under extremely dangerous
conditions.
Documents obtained by NBC News show that since 2000, Congress —
specifically the Architect of the Capitol, responsible for the
maintenance of the tunnels — has been warned of asbestos and other
“potentially life threatening safety and health violations” in the
tunnels. Yet a recent inspection found little had been fixed.
“There had been some improvement in some areas, but basically it was
worse than we found it before,” says Peter Eveleth, general counsel in
the Office of Compliance, in charge of health and safety oversight of
Congress.
The oversight office’s initial investigation was sparked by complaints
from workers about the poor health and safety conditions in the tunnels.
“We interviewed most of the workers and what they have suggested to us
has borne out substantially through our inspections,” says Eveleth. “We
find them quite credible.”
In 2000, the Office of Compliance cited the Architect of the Capitol for
serious violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. They found
that concrete falling from the ceiling posed a serious risk of “death or
serious physical harm” to the workers; the tunnels lacked an adequate
communications system allowing workers to communicate with those above
ground in case of an emergency; and there were not sufficient emergency
exits permitting workers to escape in a crisis.
“It was determined that there were a number of locations where concrete
was in danger of falling (incipient spalls) and injuring employees,” the
citation said. “As of November 29, 2000, these areas has [sic] not been
repaired, posing a danger to the personnel who work in the tunnels,” the
report warned.
Separately — that same year — the oversight office also raised concerns
about asbestos and extremely high temperatures in the tunnels. One June
2000 memo from the Office of Compliance noted that the Architect of the
Capitol “needs to take action to prevent tunnel workers from breathing
airborne asbestos.” Yet six years later, investigators say the
conditions are even worse than they were back then. So last year,
Eveleth’s office sent inspectors back into the tunnels to check on the
status of the repairs his office demanded five years earlier.
“We found what was supposed to have been corrected was not corrected in
many instances,” says Eveleth.
Some portions of the tunnels in danger of collapse were shored up and
some asbestos was cleaned up. But in February, Eveleth’s office issued
the first “complaint” the office has ever filed against the Architect of
the Capitol because it had “effectively ignored” the office’s prior
warnings about health and safety concerns in the tunnels.
“We were not satisfied that the architect was taking the measures that
were necessary in order to address both short-term and long-term
repairs,” says Eveleth. “I don’t know why they didn’t make this a
priority,” he says.
In March, after the complaint was issued, the architect mandated that
tunnel workers wear respirators and protective suits to shield against
potential exposure to asbestos. But some of the workers have worked
unprotected in these conditions for more than 20 years.
During an interview with NBC News, the Architect of the Capitol, Alan
Hantman, said his office was “being overly conservative” in requiring
workers to wear protective suits. But those assurances run counter to
established federal regulations for dealing with exposed asbestos and
the recommendations of safety and health experts. The tunnel workers
also complain that they have repeatedly been given hollow assurances
regarding their own health and safety or no information at all.
“We ask [questions] about our safety and they refuse to answer them,”
says John Thayer, supervisor of the tunnel shop at the Capitol Power
Plant who is in charge of the crew of tunnel workers.
The workers don’t just worry about their exposure to asbestos, either.
“My greatest fear is getting hit with a piece of concrete,” says Tommy
Baker, who suffered a stroke in July. Others worry about the continuing
lack of communications in the tunnels in the event of an accident.
“There's no emergency plan to get us out of there,” says Scotty Smith,
another worker. “There's an emergency plan for every federal worker on
the planet, except us.”
Thayer: “I do worry every day when I send these guys out on the job that
somebody's gonna get either seriously hurt or killed.”
The architect says that the Public Health Service did a survey of
asbestos in the tunnels in 2001.
"The results of that survey were good," Hantman says. "It was basically
our job to maintain in place the asbestos over that period of time."
But a 2004 memo from the Capitol Police says: "Exposed asbestos has
built up on all of the steam lines and floors of the tunnels."
In July, the Public Health Service completed an asbestos assessment of
the tunnels soon after NBC's interview with the architect. The health
agency found some areas of the pipes in the five tunnels they inspected
contained asbestos in "good condition." But dozens of other areas in the
tunnels were found to have exposed or damaged asbestos. The sixth tunnel
was not inspected because it was in the process of being abated. The
public health agency's report recommended that all asbestos-containing
materials in the tunnels be removed or properly encapsulated.
The Capitol's utility tunnel system contains hundreds of tons of
asbestos, according to the Office of Compliance. This is not a problem
as long as the asbestos is "encapsulated" and properly maintained,
according to health and safety experts. Many old buildings contain
asbestos. But potential health problems occur when this material gets
airborne.
"There certainly shouldn't be ambient asbestos floating around in the
tunnels," Hantman says.
But falling concrete often damages the asbestos-containing insulation
covering tunnel pipes — exposing asbestos. Government health experts —
who have inspected the tunnels — warn that even relatively small amounts
of loose asbestos in the tunnels "could be enough to contaminate the
whole area."
According to the Office of Compliance, they have discovered asbestos in
portions of the tunnels where there is no asbestos-containing material
insulating the pipes. This suggests that asbestos in the tunnels is or
has been airborne. In fact, the oversight office recently conducted its
own asbestos tests in the tunnels and discovered large amounts of
asbestos in dust that had accumulated on the top of pipes in the
tunnels.
To see just how bad the asbestos was, NBC News obtained a sample from
inside the tunnels and had it tested at a nationally renowned lab. NBC
was not present when the sample was collected. The lab hired by NBC
found 30 percent to 40 percent concentrations of asbestos — considered
extremely dangerous.
“This is not something that you are going to want to have loose and
laying about,” says Joe Centifonti from the EMSL Analytical laboratory
in Maryland, where NBC News had the material tested. “This is something
that should be sealed and locked down. I personally wouldn't want to be
working around anything that's damaged like that, day in and day out."
The results didn’t surprise the workers.
Thayer has worked in the tunnels for 22 years. In 1998, at the age of
33, his lung age was equivalent to that of a 118-year-old, according to
his medical records. He was diagnosed with scarring of the lungs, an
indication of exposure to asbestos.
“I have lesions on my lungs — scarring on my lungs,” says Thayer.
Other workers believe they have suffered from exposure as well. “I have
breathing problems,” says Scotty Smith.
“I have a pulmonary, respiratory abnormality,” adds Christian Raley.
Workers complain that the Architect of the Capitol has consistently
dismissed many of their health problems. Asked about the health
conditions of the workers, Hantman told NBC News, for instance, that
none of them had any “indication of asbestosis.”
Yet three of the workers NBC News interviewed recently visited a
renowned asbestos expert in Michigan, Dr. Michael Harbut of the Center
for Occupational and Environmental Medicine. According to the workers,
their initial medical tests indicated that all three had indications of
“asbestosis.” Harbut would not discuss the tunnel workers’ cases due to
privacy concerns, but did review the test results of the material NBC
News had tested from the tunnel. The amount of asbestos in those
materials is potentially “extremely dangerous,” he said. “This is crazy
to have this kind of thing going on right under the nose of the seat of
government."
Hantman recently admitted to Congress having failed the workers.
Responding to questions from Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., during a
hearing last March, Hantman said: “We had ongoing inspections going, but
clearly they were not adequate."
“Well, that's cold comfort,” responded Sen. Durbin. “I appreciate your
admission, but I think it tells us that we have done a great disservice
to these workers and their families.”
Hantman acknowledges problems, but says improvements are being made.
“We’re trying to solve problems and make sure that everybody who goes
down, down into those tunnels, will be safe,” said Hantman.
Earlier this month, Hantman told Congress that his office completed
"shoring" up, or repairing, the roof in one of the tunnels, completed a
"statement of work" for contracting "tunnel dust clean-up and pipe
covering repair" in another and awarded a contract to begin asbestos
clean-up in the tunnels.
But the Tunnel Rats say it's too little, too late. “I can no longer turn
to these employees and say, “You're gonna be safe,” says Thayer.
“We asked for help,” adds Raley, “and we’re not getting any. Simple as
that.”
A report in March on the Red Tunnel for the Office of the Architect —
obtained by NBC News — warns, “eventually the tunnel will cave in,
severing the steam and chilled water lines to significant portions of
the Capitol Complex.”
The Capitol Complex is composed of 13 government buildings, including
the Capitol Police headquarters and the Supreme Court.
“It’s time for somebody to be held accountable,” says tunnel worker
Tommy Baker.
Making these tunnels safe may cost as much as $500 million. So far,
Congress has appropriated only a fraction of that — $27.6 million — for
repairs.
“If this was all above ground,” says Scotty Smith, “they’d be doing
something about it.”
/end
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
.
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: ‘Tunnel rats’ file complaint against Capitol Workers who service D.C. utility tunnels claim they were retaliated against |
18 Oct 2006 08:11:20 PM |
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On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:22:14 -0700, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
According to their attorneys, the workers allege that they were
retaliated against after they informed members of Congress and the media
about falling concrete, high temperatures, unsafe levels of asbestos and
other toxins, and other dangerous working conditions in the five miles
of utility tunnels.
Don't they know that laws passed by Congress don't apply to Congress?
--
rukbat at optonline dot net
"To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim that Jesus
was not born of a virgin."
Cardinal Bellarmine,[1615, during the trial of Galileo]
(random sig, produced by SigChanger)
.
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: ‘Tunnel rats’ file complaint against Capitol Workers who service D.C. utility tunnels claim they were retaliated against |
23 Oct 2006 06:14:28 PM |
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On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 21:11:20 -0400, Al Klein <rukbat@pern.invalid> wrote
in alt.atheism
On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:22:14 -0700, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
According to their attorneys, the workers allege that they were
retaliated against after they informed members of Congress and the media
about falling concrete, high temperatures, unsafe levels of asbestos and
other toxins, and other dangerous working conditions in the five miles
of utility tunnels.
Don't they know that laws passed by Congress don't apply to Congress?
Guess not, or they're trying a 'last ditch' effort.
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
.
|
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: ‘Tunnel rats’ file complaint against Capitol Workers who service D.C. utility tunnels claim they were retaliated against |
23 Oct 2006 08:18:03 PM |
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On Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:14:28 -0700, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 21:11:20 -0400, Al Klein <rukbat@pern.invalid> wrote
in alt.atheism
On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:22:14 -0700, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
According to their attorneys, the workers allege that they were
retaliated against after they informed members of Congress and the media
about falling concrete, high temperatures, unsafe levels of asbestos and
other toxins, and other dangerous working conditions in the five miles
of utility tunnels.
Don't they know that laws passed by Congress don't apply to Congress?
Guess not, or they're trying a 'last ditch' effort.
They'd better be careful that it's NOT their 'last ditch'.
--
rukbat at optonline dot net
"I am a deeply religious nonbeliever.... This is a somewhat new kind of religion."
- Letter to Hans Muehsam March 30, 1954; Einstein Archive 38-434
(random sig, produced by SigChanger)
This signature was made by SigChanger.
You can find SigChanger at: http://www.phranc.nl/
.
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: ‘Tunnel rats’ file complaint against Capitol Workers who service D.C. utility tunnels claim they were retaliated against |
25 Oct 2006 11:33:22 AM |
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On Mon, 23 Oct 2006 21:18:03 -0400, Al Klein <rukbat@pern.invalid> wrote
in alt.atheism
On Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:14:28 -0700, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 21:11:20 -0400, Al Klein <rukbat@pern.invalid> wrote
in alt.atheism
On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:22:14 -0700, stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote:
According to their attorneys, the workers allege that they were
retaliated against after they informed members of Congress and the media
about falling concrete, high temperatures, unsafe levels of asbestos and
other toxins, and other dangerous working conditions in the five miles
of utility tunnels.
Don't they know that laws passed by Congress don't apply to Congress?
Guess not, or they're trying a 'last ditch' effort.
They'd better be careful that it's NOT their 'last ditch'.
In those tunnels anything can happen.
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a plethora of splinters.
.
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