Contractor Blames ‘Human Oversight’ — Not Vandalism — for Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Problems

Rahmat Gul/AP Photo

The contractor for the failed Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation blamed its own errors — and one sweaty employee — for faulty work at the iconic site, according to newly unearthed documents.

Atlantic Industrial Coatings admitted errors in both the design “and execution” of the renovation work meant to add a new liner to the iconic reflecting pool in the color of “American flag blue,” The New York Times reported.

The liner, which quickly peeled and bubbled up and was inundated with algae after it was first applied earlier in the summer, used two substances that proved to have incompatible chemicals, according to The Times.

But there were other problems, including workers who sprayed an insufficient amount of the substances and one employee who was so hot in his protective gear under the blazing sun he left drops of sweat behind, the outlet reported.

Documents reviewed by The Times found:

Also early this month, the contractor identified a new potential culprit: sweat. It said that a worker, wearing a protective suit under the hot Washington sun, was leaving droplets of sweat on the coating, which were then trapped when new layers were sprayed on top.

To try to solve that problem, the documents show, the man then opened the top part of his protective suit and wrapped cloth around his head and wrists to contain the sweat. The documents reviewed by The Times do not say if that stopped the blisters.

President Donald Trump has insisted vandalism caused the $14.7 million renovation project, which was awarded to Atlantic on a no-bid contract, to fail.

Former Olympian David Hearn was arrested in June for allegedly vandalizing the reflecting pool in a case which was later infamously dropped by Washington US Attorney Jeanine Pirro for lack of evidence.

The White House has tried to get the case reinstated anyway, prompting Hearn and his attorneys, including Norm Eisen, to accuse the Department of Justice of “prosecutorial harassment” as they seek to block any further efforts to prosecute him.

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