Asbestos and the Smithsonian

A long-time employee of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, says that he is being exposed to asbestos on the job. The Smithsonian says the amount of asbestos is too small to be a safety hazard. But the employee has been diagnosed with asbestosis, a chronic condition that develops from long-term exposure to asbestos. Other severe diseases associated with asbestos are mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Richard Pullman has worked for the Smithsonian for more than 27 years. He is a lighting specialist, and his job requires cutting into building walls to install lighting for exhibits. When he learned last year that the museum’s walls contained asbestos, he filed a federal workplace safety complaint. And since he had been experiencing shortness of breath, he had his lungs checked out by a physician. Sure enough, he already had asbestosis.

The Smithsonian insists that tests of the air in the National Air and Space Museum do not reveal a hazardous amount of asbestos. Some industrial hygienists counter that, while the air may be safe for museum visitors, the workers who are directly exposed to the materials behind the walls could well be at risk.

The Smithsonian counters that, even if there were hazardous amounts of asbestos behind the walls, the health risks are negligible if workers take proper precautions. Pullman says that he was unaware of the asbestos problem until last year and does not recall the museum issuing proper safety guidelines to workers, even though museum administration has known about the asbestos for years.

Pullman has filed two worker’s compensation claims. The U.S. Department of Labor denied both claims, saying that Pullman provided no proof that his lung condition was caused directly by his work at the museum. However, one of Pullman’s doctors, a specialist in asbestosis, says that the cause of Pullman’s lung disease is pretty much a no-brainer — one gets asbestosis from heavy and long-term asbestos exposure.

On a larger scale, Mr. Pullman’s plight reveals why people harmed by asbestos exposure often have no recourse but to take their cases to court. Many politicians, led by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), are trying to protect employers by setting up a trust fund for those suffering asbestos-related disease. Instead of filing suit, workers like Mr. Pullman could apply to the trust fund for compensation. That sounds grand, but what happens when trust fund administration simply denies the claim, as the Department of Labor did to Mr. Pullman?

Barbara O’Brien
March 18, 2009

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