Days after the abrupt demolition of the East Wing of the White House, critics are questioning whether the Trump administration and contractors involved in the demolition of the historic structure met federal health and safety standards, including those governing the handling of hazardous materials such as asbestos, a dangerous and potentially deadly substance widely used during the East Wing’s original construction period.
On Thursday, Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., wrote a letter to executives of the company responsible for the demolition seeking evidence that the company complied with regulations dictating the safe removal of asbestos and lead, or whether they instead “cut corners” and “played with people’s health.”
“Demolition of a structure of the East Wing’s antiquity and national historic significance requires the highest possible standards of care, not the lowest bid and turning a blind eye to regulation,” Markey wrote to leaders of ACECO, a Maryland-based demolition contractor.
The senator’s proposal comes days after the nation’s largest asbestos victims’ organization raised the alarm about whether the White House may have deviated from accepted practices for handling the materials.
“Federal law requires thorough inspection, notification, and removal of asbestos prior to any demolition,” the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) wrote last week. “No publicly available information demonstrates that these legal obligations have been met.”
A White House official would not say whether asbestos was found in the East Wing, but told ABC News that “a very extensive abatement and remediation evaluation was followed, meeting all applicable federal standards.”
The official said “any hazardous materials reduction was done in September,” prior to demolition earlier this month.
A worker clears debris after the demolition of the East Wing of the White House, October 23, 2025 in Washington.
Eric Lee/Getty Images
But Linda Reinstein, president of ADAO, said she has not seen any public evidence to suggest an evaluation or reduction has taken place. Federal regulations require rigorous inspections to be conducted prior to demolition, and those inspections are then documented with a certification. If asbestos is found, workers will be observed on site wearing protective equipment, such as hazmat suits.
“I am deeply concerned for White House staff and others working at or near the East Wing demolition site,” Reinstein said. “It is still unclear what measures have been taken to ensure the safe removal of deadly asbestos and other hazardous materials.”
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was commonly used in mid-century structures for fire protection and insulation, before its deadly health risks were completely eliminated. acquaintance. Invisible asbestos fibers can become airborne whenever asbestos-containing materials are disturbed during demolition, renovation, or even routine maintenance.
Doctors warn that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos, and that even brief, unprotected demolition work can damage the lungs and increase the risk of developing mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to asbestos fibers can cause scarring in the lungs and increases the risk of mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Dr. Raja Flores, a leading pulmonologist, professor and chair of Thoracic Surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, said it can take years after inhaling the fibers for symptoms to appear.
Progressive lung disease and cancer that can occur after exposure to asbestos “It makes you weak, you’re short of breath, you feel like you’re suffocating, and all of these symptoms develop over a long period of time,” Flores said. “It’s a long, agonizing torture.”
“You wouldn’t find me there, not without a mask” and “not without precautions,” Flores said, referring to the White House complex during the demolition.
Although White House officials did not say whether asbestos existed in the building, some experts suggest that its age and the time of its construction mean it likely had fiber present. Originally completed in 1800, the building underwent major renovations in the 1940s and 1950s, at the peak of asbestos use in buildings.
Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended President Donald Trump’s decision to demolish the East Wing, citing in part his assumption that “parts of the East Wing could have been asbestos, could have been mold.”
Demolition of the East Wing has been unpopular with most Americans, according to a new poll released Thursday morning.
A 56% majority of Americans oppose the Trump administration tearing down the East Wing of the White House as part of construction of a 90,000-square-foot ballroom paid for with $300 million in private donations, including 45% who “strongly” oppose it, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel.
The continued demolition of the East Wing and construction of the new ballroom at the White House, October 23, 2025, in Washington.
Katie Harbath/AP
President Trump said in July that the ballroom project would not interfere with the existing structure of the White House. But last week, as crews began razing the east wing, an official said “the entire east wing will be modernized.”
On Thursday, satellite images from Planet Labs PBC showed the east wing reduced to rubble.
The White House has demanded that at least some of the construction workers tasked with demolishing the East Wing sign confidentiality agreements prohibiting them from speaking about their work, according to sources familiar with the project.
A White House official told ABC News that requiring workers to sign confidentiality agreements is “standard” practice, given the White House’s operational security aspects of the project.
Bob Sussman, who was EPA deputy administrator under President Bill Clinton and EPA senior policy advisor under President Barack Obama, He said that “the speed with which all of this happened and the reasons why it happened so quickly should have raised a lot of questions.”
Some environmental and health experts warn of potential risks to the public if demolition debris that may contain asbestos is removed from the White House grounds without adequate safety measures.
“I’m concerned that wherever they move this debris, the population in that area will be at risk for 20 to 30 years,” Dr. Flores said.
Markey’s letter seeks details from ACECO about the timeline for the demolition, the process it followed, what permits were requested and whether any incidents were reported, and asks ACECO to respond by Nov. 12.
ABC News’ Jared Kofsky contributed to this report.
