Staffer Has Disease; Museum Defends Safety
Jump to full article: The Washington Post, 2009-03-15
Author: James V. Grimaldi and Jacqueline Trescott Washington Post Staff Writers
Intro: Within weeks, Pullman had gathered internal documents and filed federal workplace safety complaints. And because he'd been experiencing shortness of breath, he went to see a lung doctor, who diagnosed asbestosis, a lung disease linked to breathing asbestos fibers.
Pullman and the museum are now engaged in a dispute about the danger posed by asbestos dust in the building. Smithsonian Institution officials acknowledge the presence of asbestos but say their tests show there is nothing harmful in the air. As a precaution, the museum spent $27,000 to clean up 11 areas in five galleries, officials said.
Industrial hygienists who reviewed the tests told The Washington Post that the greatest risk of exposure is to workers who did not wear protective gear. For visitors to the museum, exposure would be extremely unlikely unless they walked into a work area after walls were sanded or cut.
Managers have known for 17 years that wall seams at the 33-year-old museum on the Mall had been smoothed over with spackling containing levels of asbestos that would trigger worker-safety rules. A consultant's report commissioned by the Smithsonian, which runs the museum, determined the material would be harmless if undisturbed. The report urged that workers be alerted.
But that rarely occurred.
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