OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL Request for Safety and Health Inspection of Employing Office VERSION 2011.06.01 Page am an employee or a representative of an employing office in the Legislative Branch. |lam requesting this inspection because | believe that a safety or health hazard exists in the workplace. (wish to [XJ do not wish to remain anonymous. TF YOU WISHO REMAIN ANONYMOUS, YOUR NAME WILL NOT BE REVEALED TO OTHERS UNLESS YOU TELL US OTHERWISE Description of the hazard. Describe the unsafe acts and/or hazardous conditions and any injuries, illnesses, or “close calls” caused by these acts or conditions. INCLUDE DETAILS SUCH AS DATES AND LOCATIONS. ADDITIONAL OR SUPPORTING INFORMATION MAY BE ATTACHED, Main Issue: The Architect of the Capitol's handling of, response to and communication of lead detected in the Cannon House Office Building water system. In response to the detection of lead in the Cannon House Office Building's water system, the Architect of the Capitol shut off the building's water system on June 28, 2016, with only paper signs stating "out of service” posted on water fountains and coolers throughout the building and in individual Member offices. No further explanation was included ‘on the signs as to why the system was shut off in order to inform Members, staff and the public about the lead detection. On June 28, 2016, the Architect of the Capitol sent a vague email to only the Chiefs of Staff in the Cannon House Office Building about the lead contamination. The email left numerous questions about this serious issue unanswered, which prompted me to write a letter (enclosed) on June 29, 2016, asking for these questions to be immediately answered by the close of business that same day. My letter was addressed to the Honorable Theresa Grafenstine, Inspector General, U.S. House of Representatives, and Kerry Kircher, former General Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives. My office addressed the letter to Mr. Kircher because he was listed as the General Counsel on the House General Counsel's website at the time my letter was written and sent. My office was notified that same day that Mr. Kircher had resigned a few weeks prior, but was not given a name of an acting General Counsel. | kept Mr. Kircher as the addressee since a new General Counsel had not been named (the current General Counsel, Thomas Hungar, did not take office until July 2016). After receiving my June 25th letter, the Honorable Grafenstine promptly pointed my office in the direction of contacting the Architect of the Capitol Inspector General, Kevin Mulshine. Mr. Mulshine did not answer any of the questions stated in my June 29th letter that my office forwarded to him, but instead directed my office to contact the Office of Compliance (00C}, which we did. The OOC General Counsel, John Uelmen, informed my office that the Architect of the Capitol did not provide his office with any tests results or information that would answer my questions. Otherwise, he said, he would be happy to share these results with us. My Chief of Staff, Anthony Foti, was also in communication with Wiliam Weidemeyer, Superintendent, House Office Buildings, on June 29th about the lead issue. Mr. Weldemeyer also received a copy of my June 29th letter on June 2ath, but did not answer any of my questions. In fact, because my questions went unanswered on June 29th by anyone involved with the lead found in the Cannon water system, | sent another letter on June 30th (enclosed) to the Honorable Grafenstine, Mr. Kircher (via the email address of a House GC assistant attorney), Mr. Mulshine and Mr. Room LA 200, Adams Building + 110 Second Stree, SE» Washington, DC 20540-1889 « t/207.724.9250 + /202.426.1563 + tdd/202.426.1912 www.compliance.govWeidemeyer. | was given the runaround for two days until Mr. Weidemeyer finally attempted to answer my questions via email on June 30, 2016, at 4:58 p.m. Throughout these two days of alarming unresponsiveness and poor communication by the Architect of the Capitol, vague and inconclusive lead detection FAQs were emailed to only Chiefs of Staff in the Cannon House Office Building, with only one hardcopy of the FAQs being delivered to each Cannon Member office in the following days. After that, notifications and updates were only emailed to select groups at a time, and there was no consistency as to what group received certain emails or not. Furthermore, Members and staff working in other congressional office buildings were not notified about the lead detection, which is alarming seeing as though staff and Members walk to and from all office buildings, using each building's water system. Also, staffers frequently change or move offices throughout office buildings, so a staffer who worked in Cannon three months ago and now works in Rayburn was not notified about the lead detection. Even more upsetting, Mr. Fotis wife, who also works in the Cannon House Office Building and regularly drank the Cannon water before and during her pregnancy, had just given birth to their son a few days prior to the Cannon water system being shut off. Being that she was on maternity leave at the time the water system was shut off, she was not notified about the lead detection via the hardcopy sent to her office. If it were not for the luck of Mr. Foti receiving the email from the Architect of the Capitol that was only sent to Chiefs of Staff in Cannon, his wife would have not known for days about the lead detection, and therefore would have not contacted her doctor, who directed her to be immeditaley tested for lead poisoning due to the risk posed to her and her newborn. | ask that you immediately look into the gross lack of and poor external and internal communications by the Architect of the Capitol regarding this lead detection. | also ask that you investigate the Architect of the Capitol's water and lead test procedures, frequency of these procedures, and compliation and dissemenation of its test results. Does the hazard described above continue to occur? [J Yes [_] No [_]! don’t know If it continues, how often does it occur? [X] Continually [_] Daily ["] Weekly [] Monthly (Dolother frequency Request for Safety and Health Inspection of Employing Office _ [SO MOTwniTe THs space ase No. VERSION 2011.06.01 Pege2 | Date Filed Offices responsible for the hazards). | Representatives from these offices. IFNOW/N; THIS INFORMATION IS NOT MANDATORY | IF KNOWN; THIS INFORMATION IS NOT MANDATORY ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL Name William Weidemeyer Phone (202)225-7012 Name Kevin Mulshine Phone (202}593-0260 Name Phone( ) - Room LA200, Adams Building + 110 Second Street, SE + Washington, DC 20540-1999 « 202.724 8250 « /202.426.1663 » tdd/202.426.1912 www.compliance.govHave you discussed the hazard with anyone responsible for having the hazard corrected? D<] Yes [_] No IF yes, please describe who was contacted and what was discussed. 1s INFORMATION IS NOT MANDATORY Please see the above "Description of hazard" section. Requestor : Name Rep. Dennis A. Ross Work Organization U.S. House of Representatives Work Phone (202)225-1252 Mailing Address Home Phone ( ) - 229 Cannon House Office Building CellPhone ( ) Other Phone ( ) - ea & "lS ADDRESS WL Be USED FOR PROVIDING YOU WTH CORRESPONDENCE Homan @ AND OUR FINDINGS [ WILL NOT BE SHARED IF YOU REQUEST ANONYM. Is your work unit represented by a labor organization? [_] Yes [XJ No ‘THIS INFORMATION IS NOT MANDATORY ion. N/A If yes, please identify the labor organi Contact information: N/A Electronic Signature By typing my name in the box below, | certify under penalty of perjury, as detailed by 18 U.S.C.A. § 1621, that the foregoing is true and correct. Signature Rep. Dennis A. Ross Date Wednesday, July 06, 2016. Room LA 200, Adams Bulldng + 110 Second Street, SE + Washington, DC 20540-1999 « ¢/202.724,9250 « f/202.426.1663 + tdd/202.426.1912 www.compliance.govDENNIS A. Ross 1 wagnmoroy, 26 SURI, Gongress af the Huited States eee House of Representatives 229 Cannon Building Bashington, BE 20515 irrn tects ateoes er The Honorable Therese M. Grafenstine Keny Kircher Inspector General, U.S. House of General Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives Representatives Office of Inspector General Office of General Counsel 386 Ford Building 219 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-9990 USS. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Sune 29, 2016 Dear Inspector Granfenstine and Mr. Kircher: ‘This week, Member Offices housed in the Cannon House Office Building received Nippant notification from the Architect of the Capitol stating “lead levels in drinking water sources are slightly above the EPA standard” and thet the “cause of the increase remains under investigation.” Additionally, we received a set of Frequently Asked Question which, to say the least. are deficient in information and alarmingly vague considering the matter at hand, As you may know, according to EPA rules, if lead concentrations exceed an action level of 15 ppb in more than 10 percent of customer taps sampled, the system must undertake a number of additional actions to control corrosion in, among other things, pipes and plumbing fixtures. 1 wish to receive written answers by the close of business today to the following questions, not covered by the FAQs given to my office: 1). What actions is the AOC taking to control corrosion in the Cannon plumbing system? 2) When was the most recent test conducted and what time period did it cover? 3) What is the exact lead level found to be above the EPA ISppb levels in this most recent test? 4) Most importantly, what plans do you have in place to offer fiee screening to anyone who is likely to be at risk due to this exposure? If no such plans are in place, I demand the AOC takes action now.T have been drinking this water for years. My staff has been drinking this water for years. Most alarmingly. there are pregnant women and women of child-bearing age who have been drinking this water for years. In fact, the Mayo Clinic states “lead can harm an unborn child, so pregnant ‘women or women likely to become pregnant should be especially careful to avoid exposure to lead.” My colleagues and our staff come to this building each day, working long hours, in order to serve the people of our districts and the entire United States. Furthermore, constituents, tourists, and distinguished guests walk these halls each day. It js alarming to me that in so doing we have been putting ourselves in harm's way. Even more distressing is the fact the signs posted due to ‘this matter simply state “out of order,” with no explanation whatsoever, rather than informing the public as to the reason. Those who do not have access to the letter casually sent to our offices have no way of knowing they may be at risk. ‘This is a most serious matter and I urge the AOC to be more forthright in the information disseminated to me, my colleagues, and our staff. Sincerely, lef Dennis A. Ross Member of Congress1D wasnneron. ¢ DENNIS A. Ross pate nn Congress of the Huited States seseonunra on vain suncnee House of Representatives ae 225 Cannon Building eee Bshington, DC 20515 ses feemieiece The Honorable Theresa M. Grafenstine Kerry Kircher Inspector General, U.S. House of General Counsel, U.S. House of Represeniatives Represtniatives Office of Inspector General Office of General Counsel 386 Ford Building 219 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-9990 U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 June 30, 2016 Dear Inspector Granfenstine and Mr. Kircher: | write today astounded with the lack of response to my attached letter from yesterday in which I requested simple answers to questions not included in either your initially released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), or your FAQs released yesterday afternoon, J am still demanding written answers by the close of business today to the following questions. still not covered by the most recent FAQs provided to my office: 1) What actions is the AOC taking to control corrosion in the Cannon plumbing system? 2) What time period did the most recent test cover? 3) According to the most recent FAQ, sampling is conducted annually and was last, conducted in September 2015, What frequency are these tests conducted? 4) Most importantly, what plans do you have in place to offer free screening to anyone who is likely to be at risk due to this exposure? If no such plans are in place, I demand the AOC takes action now. My constituents have been drinking this water for years. I have been drinking this water for years. My staff has been drinking this water for years. Most alarmingly, there are pregnant women and women of child-bearing age who have been drinking this water for years. In my letter yesterday, | requested a response by close of business. Your lack of response provides no comfort to me, my constituents, or my staff, These are not difficult questions. If youfeel these questions should be directed to another office, please respond immediately with who these questions should be referred. Again, I continue to request an immediate response to questions above by no later than close of business. Sincerely, 5 Dennis A. Ross ‘Member of Congress