--- description: Part of the Capitol building was shut down early Thursday after a potential leak of asbestos. title: Possible Asbestos Leak at the Capitol image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt015ed5be6b3b65ae/69869b26361760757f90cfe2/capitol-building.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Congress](/tag/congress/) ## Congress Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # House of Representatives Closed Due to 'Industrial Spill'  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 10, 2014 1:00 PM CUT  UNITED STATES - JULY 8: A strong storm front passes over the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, July 8, 2014\. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) UNITED STATES - JULY 8: A strong storm front passes over the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, July 8, 2014\. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)Bill Clark—CQ Roll Call/Getty Images  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 10, 2014 1:00 PM CUT **Updated at 10:00 a.m.** The House side of the U.S. Capitol was shut down early Thursday after a potential leak of asbestos, the agency responsible for the building said. The House will not gavel in at 10 a.m. as scheduled, but the chamber is expected to convene at noon for legislative business. The U.S. Capitol Police announced in a statement that a staircase and a room in the House will remain closed for further inspection. “The East Grand Staircase on the House side of the U.S. Capitol Building from floors 1 through 3 and room H-324 will remain closed until further notice,” wrote the Capitol Police in a statement released to House staff at 9:06 a.m. “The rest of the House side of the U.S. Capitol Building will return to normal operations, including tours of the U.S. Capitol.” According to the Architect of the Capitol, the potential leak may have occurred during asbestos abatement. > [](https://twitter.com/uscapitol/status/487210871413022721) A police alert first went out around 7 a.m. Thursday, and Capitol Police Hazardous Materials Response Team is on the scene. “Samples have been collected to determine whether there was potential exposure,” said a AoC spokesperson. The House Sergeant of Arms sent out an alert at 7.40am: “The House Side of the U.S. Capitol Building is closed until further notice due to an industrial spill. The Architect of the Capitol is continuing testing of the area. All Members and staff should avoid the area until further notice.” _—With reporting by Jay Newton-Small and Alex Rogers_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2972659/capitol-house-representatives-industrial-spill/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2972659/capitol-house-representatives-industrial-spill/"},"headline":"House of Representatives Closed Due to 'Industrial Spill'","datePublished":"2014-07-10T13:00:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:04:20.721Z","description":"The House side of the building is closed","url":"https://time.com/2972659/capitol-house-representatives-industrial-spill/","keywords":["Congress","National Security","washington DC"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt015ed5be6b3b65ae/69869b26361760757f90cfe2/capitol-building.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt015ed5be6b3b65ae/69869b26361760757f90cfe2/capitol-building.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A strong storm front passes over the U.S. Capitol, July 8, 2014.","caption":"A strong storm front passes over the U.S. Capitol, July 8, 2014.","creditText":"Bill Clark—CQ Roll Call/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2972659/capitol-house-representatives-industrial-spill/","name":"House of Representatives Closed Due to 'Industrial Spill'"}}]}] ```