Another proof of the carelessness deegree of the American adminstrartions about
their presence / occupation in Iraq: a) life of their own soldiers who were
dumped in Iraq than deployed b) the ailing infrastructure of Iraq that was
targeted, degraded and never taken care of or considered for re-build as
claimed.
AP IMPACT: For troops in Iraq, shower may be fatal
WASHINGTON – The military is racing to inspect more than 90,000 U.S.-run
facilities across Iraq to reduce a deadly threat troops face far off the
battlefield: electrocution or shock while showering or using appliances.
About
one-third of the inspections so far have turned up major electrical
problems, according to interviews and an internal military document
obtained by The Associated Press. Half of the problems they found have
since been fixed but about 65,000 facilities still need to be
inspected, which could take the rest of this year. Senior Pentagon
officials were on Capitol Hill this week for briefings on the findings.
The work assigned to Task Force SAFE, which oversees the
inspections and repairs, is aimed at preventing deaths like that of Staff Sgt.
Ryan Maseth, 24, of Pittsburgh. He died in January 2008, one of at least three
soldiers killed while showering since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Scores more soldiers suffered shocks between September 2006 and
July 2008, according to a database maintained by KBR Inc., the Houston-based
contractor that oversees maintenance at most U.S. facilities in Iraq.
"We
got a ton of buildings we know probably aren't safe and we just don't
have them done yet," said Jim Childs, an electrician the task force
hired to help with the inspections. "It's Russian roulette. I cringe
every time I hear of a shock."
Ron Vance, who served as a sergeant in the California Army
National Guard,
remembers being knocked out cold in a shower building in 2004 in Taji,
Iraq. He said he screamed and fell while showering, suffering burns on
his back and shoulders. Another soldier who tried to pry him from the
shower head also was injured. Vance, 57, of Fresno, Calif., said he's
still too traumatized to shower without his wife nearby.
Sen. Bob Casey,
D-Pa., called Task Force SAFE's findings troubling. He said the task
force is doing good work but said problems should have been fixed much
earlier.
"Just imagine getting the news that
they've done 25,000 facilities, but your son or daughter is in the
65,000 they haven't done," Casey told the AP.
Last year, 94 troops stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan or other
Central Command countries sought medical treatment for electric shock,
according to Defense Department health data. KBR's database lists 231
electric shock incidents in the more than 89,000 facilities the company
runs in Iraq, according to military records.
KBR is the target of a wrongful death lawsuit
filed by Maseth's family. They claim the company knew there were
electrical problems in the building where he died, but didn't fix them.
His mother testified last year on Capitol Hill.
Army investigators have since reclassified Maseth's death as
negligent homicide
caused by KBR and two of its supervisors. An Army investigator said KBR
failed to ensure work was done by qualified electricians and plumbers.
The case is under legal review.
"KBR is not
responsible for the electrocution deaths widely reported, including
that of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth," Heather Browne, a KBR spokeswoman,
said in an e-mail.
KBR and another contractor,
Arkel International, are the targets of a second lawsuit, filed by the
family of another soldier electrocuted in Iraq, Staff Sgt. Christopher
Lee Everett, 23, of Huntsville, Texas. Everett, a member of the Texas Army
National Guard, was killed in September 2005 when the power washer he was using
to clean a vehicle short-circuited.
Task Force
SAFE inspectors found many of the facilities that fall under KBR's
contract have electrical problems, according to an internal military
document obtained by The Associated Press. Of the 20,340 maintained by
KBR and inspected so far, 6,935 failed the government inspection, the
document said. When about 2,000 of the buildings with faulty work were
re-inspected, the facilities passed, the document said.
The Defense Contract Management Agency
has accepted KBR's plans to correct the problems, according to the
document the AP obtained. It said the agency will closely oversee KBR's
work.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., questioned why KBR has been allowed
to continue to perform electrical work in Iraq. He said the military should
take a more careful look at the electrical work in Afghanistan, too, where KBR
also has a large contract for electrical work.
"If
they found widespread problems, the obvious question is why has there
not been action to remove the contract and bring in another
contractor?" Dorgan said.
Browne, the company
spokeswoman, said KBR has cooperated with the government, performing
technical inspection and providing requested information.
Task Force SAFE (the acronym stands for Safety Action for Fire
and Electricity) said it is making progress. The Army is tracking
reports of just over two fires each day in Iraq, mostly blamed on
electrical faults. But that's down from nearly five fires a day, Brig.
Gen. Kurt Stein said in an e-mail to the AP. Stein said the number of
electrical shocks has also been reduced.
"Although we are still seeing some electrical shocks, they tend to be minor and
are often preventable," Stein said.
In addition to the repairs, Stein said the military has purchased more reliable
surge protectors to replace ones that had been bought in Iraq.
"Our hearts go out to the families of those who died or were injured from
electrical shock or fire," Stein said. "We take our job to inspect, identify,
repair and prevent electrical and fire incidents very seriously."
Vance, the guardsman who was shocked in the shower, said the military
didn't take his injuries seriously. He's since retired on partial
disability from the Veterans Affairs Department
for a "cognitive disorder" related to the incident, but he has sought
additional compensation for what he describes as ongoing knee and shoulder
problems for falling in the shower.
"I really don't think they cared. I didn't die," Vance said. "It wasn't
a priority on their list. It was like, he's fine. He's alive. He's
OK."http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090326/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_electrocutions
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