The demolition of the White House East Wing? ASBESTOS!!!

[thewayne]

Renovations in the early 1900s and 1940s probably introduced a large amount of asbestos insulation in the walls and around the plumbing in the building, which means any renovation or demolition of the building needed to have a thorough inspection and abatement plan in place before any work or demolition could be done.

And we all know that didn't happen. There's no way in hell that with the speed in which that building came down that any sort of plan or abatement could have been done. Which means all of the construction workers, White House workers, Secret Service, WH security, press, visitors, protestors, anyone walking near the area - all have been potentially exposed to asbestos.

Also, when asbestos is removed from building renovations, it has to be specially packaged for disposal, including the special handling outerwear that the workers wear. Which means the landfill that the East Wing now occupies is now a haz mat dump and probably thoroughly contaminated with free-floating asbestos. Every time more rubble gets dumped on top of the East Wing debris, the physical impact hitting the lower layers of WH debris is stirring things up and more asbestos gets pumped into the air.

https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/10/trumps-swift-demolition-of-east-wing-may-have-launched-asbestos-plumes/


Oh - and another thing? #47 also just disbanded the commission in charge of regulating and approving changes to historic buildings and monuments throughout the DC area, which would have been in charge of any renovations to the White House East Wing.

Comments

[silveradept]

I know that the occupant of the White House has no conception of "Regulations are written in blood," because he's more than happy to spill other people's blood for his own gratification, but I can imagine some estate or later government getting properly sued and found liable to pay the treatment and other costs of the workers exposed to asbestos in this action. And anyone else who can demonstrate they were affected by it.

[thewayne]

And he's gotten a ruling from SCOTUS that he's immune from prosecution.

[silveradept]

Yes, there's that, too, although I'm sure that can also be managed over time. Hopefully in a time frame where all his problems finally catch up to him.