This research examines a state crime of omission by members of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol. These crimes were perpetrated against a group of employees charged with maintaining the underground utility tunnels beneath the United States Capitol. Through a secondary analysis of congressional testimony; citations and documents issued by the Office of Compliance; medical records; and various media accounts of the events, this research seeks to examine the perpetrators' actions as a state crime of omission and offer a theoretical explanation. Our findings suggest the actions and inactions of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, over a period of years, embody the definition of a state crime. Our theoretical explanation examines the conditions that combined to foster an environment in which occupational exposure to asbestos continued for years, placing the life and health of the tunnel crew in serious jeopardy.
I would like to thank Madame Chairman Boxer, Ranking Member Inhofe and the entire Environment and Public Works committee for the honor and opportunity to testify today. My name is Linda Reinstein … [I am] a mesothelioma widow. My husband, Alan Reinstein, lost his three-year battle with mesothelioma, a deadly asbestos cancer, in May 2006. I am neither a lobbyist nor an attorney, only a volunteer. Today, I somberly represent the victims and their families who have suffered the traumatic effects of asbestos diseases. For many of us, this is an especially difficult week, as Father's Day is on Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of asbestos victims around the world paid the ultimate price for asbestos exposure: their lives. These diseases were all preventable. Before I share the faces, it is important to understand the facts. We cannot alter history or bring back the dead, but we can learn from the past to save lives and money. Most Americans trust that their air, soil, and water are safe from toxic contaminants-but as victims, we know the truth. For a century, asbestos exposure had been linked to incurable diseases, yet we continue to face an enormous
Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corporation is the 1973 landmark case that paved the way for successful litigation against the asbestos industry. Clarence Borel's granddaughter shares recollections of the reluctant man behind the court case.
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