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Feb 28 2007
John Thayer, a supervisor of the Capitol Hill power plant utility tunnels is going to testify before a Senate panel. He will give evidence of his asbestos exposure on Thursday. As an employee of Capitol Hill, he will explain regarding the pathetic working conditions as well. "I am planning to tell the subcommittee members about the crew’s daily working conditions and the deterioration of their health as a result of servicing the five miles of utility tunnels beneath Capitol Hill," Thayer said, “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. There is a lack of upper management with the ability to monitor the maintenance of the asbestos that is already present inside government buildings.” Thayer criticized that the internal draft of an Architect of the Capitol (AoC) quarterly report to the House and Senate Appropriations committees was not precise. Thayer is the first man among the 10 membered team who was allowed to go on the congressional record about their continued exposure to the carcinogenic substance. “It’s the first time tunnel workers in the legislative record. It’s the first time they have been invited to testify,” said Jillian Aldebron, an attorney working with the tunnel crew. Thayer has worked inside the tunnels for more than 22 years. He said that his employees were subjected to more pathetic conditions than they had been when they first filed a complaint with the Office of Compliance in March 2006. "Due to the inefficiency of AoC contractors, escape points have been cut off and the temperature inside the tunnels has risen. The tunnel temperatures have increased 30 degrees. It is over 160 degrees," he added. Patty Murray, the Subcommittee Chairwoman is ready to reintroduce a bill which would ban the production and importing of asbestos in the United States. She is scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday afternoon.
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