Contractor Blames 2 Repair Flaws for Lincoln Pool Damage, Not Vandalism
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 11
Contractor Blames 2 Repair Flaws for Lincoln Pool Damage, Not Vandalism
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 11
Summary
Atlantic Industrial Coatings told the Trump administration in Aug. 14 and Sept. 2 reports that its own work errors and a flawed repair plan caused the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s blue liner to peel.
Human oversight left some areas with too little primer, the contractor said, while the contract also paired 2 incompatible chemicals in the liner system.
Those findings undercut President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that vandals using knives or box cutters damaged the “American flag blue” liner.
The Justice Department had already begun dismissing vandalism cases on July 31, and National Park Service updates over the past 2 months documented the repair problems.