The Hill says the tunnels beneath the capital building have asbestos “lying so thick on the ground that it can be scooped up in handfuls.” It’s posing a hazard to workers, and the Capitol Police aren’t even allowing their officers to patrol the tunnels because of the risk.
Maybe having asbestos so close to home will encourage Congress to finally ban asbestos from new products. The European Union has banned asbestos, but it continues to be legal to sell asbestos in the United States. Of course, even if asbestos were banned, there is still the legacy material in hundreds of thousands of buildings (and industrial sites) throughout the country.