Critics question whether White House, contractors 'cut corners' on asbestos safety in East Wing demolition [View all]

Source: ABC News

October 30, 2025, 11:00 AM


Days after the abrupt demolition of the East Wing of the White House, critics are questioning whether the Trump administration and contractors involved in razing the historic structure adhered to federal health and safety standards, including those governing the handling of hazardous materials like asbestos, a dangerous and potentially deadly substance widely used during the period of the East Wing's original construction.

On Thursday, Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., penned a letter to executives at the firm responsible for the demolition seeking evidence that the company complied with regulations dictating the safe removal of asbestos and lead -- or if, instead, they "cut corners" and "gambled with people's health."

"The demolition of a structure of the age and historic national significance of the East Wing demands the highest possible standards of care, not the lowest bid and a blind eye toward regulation," Markey wrote to leaders of ACECO, a Maryland-based demolition contractor. The senator's overture comes days after the nation's largest asbestos victims' organization raised alarms about whether the White House may have deviated from accepted practices for handling these materials.

"Federal law requires comprehensive asbestos inspection, notification, and abatement before any demolition," wrote the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) last week. "No publicly available information demonstrates that these statutory obligations have been fulfilled."

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/critics-question-white-house-contractors-cut-corners-asbestos/story?id=127001299

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"Cut corners"? I doubt ANY asbestos mitigation was done AT ALL. I zoomed in on one of the images of a worker in an excavator and he had no respirator or even a rudimentary mask on.