Workers are right now applying hazardous chemical coatings inside the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. — racing to meet a political deadline, with no public transparency about whether they are being properly protected.

The project was awarded through a no-bid contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a Virginia company with no prior federal contracting history. Workers are under pressure to finish by late May — a timeline driven by the Trump administration's July 4th anniversary celebrations, not by safety standards.

Herbert Zaldivar, business development director of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), visited the site and raised the alarm. "The chemicals are hazardous," he said. "My concern is usually the level of risk when it's rushed. Are workers taking the rightful steps to protect themselves?" When he tried to speak with workers on the site, none would talk to him. "They are afraid to touch the subject," he said.

A retired U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official who visited the site independently also raised concerns, warning that the coating materials likely contain volatile organic chemicals — substances that can cause serious harm when inhaled. "People are breathing in poisonous chemicals," he said. "There's no consideration to the risk."

No political deadline is worth a worker's health. We are calling on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Department of the Interior to conduct an immediate, independent inspection of the worksite — and to ensure every worker on this project has the full safety protections they are legally entitled to before work continues.

Sign to demand OSHA inspect the reflecting pool worksite now.

Photo: AP