A settlement has been reached with the Architect of the Capitol, which demands that the asbestos-laden tunnels underneath the Capitol complex be fixed within the next 5 years.

According to an ABC-7 News report, the correction of safety issues in the tunnels is part of a settlement with the independent agency that enforces safety rules for Capitol Hill workers.

The Office of Compliance notes that they’ve been complaining about the state of the tunnels since 2000 but the problem just recently came to national attention when the 10 tunnel workers wrote letters to several Senators and Congress members, explaining their predicament.

The men have long been exposed to damaged asbestos, which lines pipes found in the tunnels. The pipes carry steam and cold water to the entire complex. The men have also complained of falling concrete and temperatures that reach in excess of 160 degrees.

Under the settlement, the architect must fix safety and health hazards within five years. The Office of Compliance will have someone monitoring the agreement full-time and can go to court to enforce the terms if they find the work is not being completed to their satisfaction.

Upon hearing of the settlement, one of the tunnel workers noted that the Architect of the Capitol “got off easy.”

This entry was posted on Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 9:50 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.