Danger from poor electrical work in Iraq

IRAQ - Inferior electrical work by private contractors on U.S. military bases in Iraq is more widespread than the Pentagon has acknowledged, according to a published report.

A Senate panel investigating the electrocutions of Americans on bases in Iraq was told by former KBR Inc. electricians that the contractor used employees with little electrical expertise to supervise subcontractors in Iraq and hired foreigners who couldn't speak English. The Pentagon has said 13 Americans have been electrocuted in Iraq since September 2003. It has ordered Houston-based KBR to inspect all the facilities it maintains in Iraq for electrical hazards.

The New York Times reported on its Web site that many more people have been injured, some seriously, by shocks, according to internal Army documents. A log compiled this year at one building complex in Baghdad disclosed that soldiers complained of receiving electrical shocks in their living quarters almost daily, the paper reported.

During just one six-month period — August 2006 through January 2007 — at least 283 electrical fires destroyed or damaged American military facilities in Iraq, including the military's largest dining hall in the country, according to the documents obtained by the Times.

An Army survey issued in February 2007 said electrical problems were the most urgent noncombat safety hazard for soldiers in Iraq.

KBR, which is responsible for providing basic services, including housing, for American troops in Iraq, said last week that its investigation had not turned up evidence of a link between its work and the electrocutions. The Army report, however, said KBR did its own study and found a "systemic problem" with electrical work, according to the Times.

Related News

texas powerlines

Website Providing Electricity Purchase Options Offered Fewer Choices For Spanish-speakers

DALLAS - The state’s Public Utility Commission has ordered that the Spanish-language version of the Power to Choose website provide the same options available on the English version of the site.

Texas is one of a handful of states with a deregulated electricity market. The ides is to give consumers the option to pick power plans that they think best fit their needs. Customers can find available plans on the state’s Power To Choose website, or its Spanish-language counterpart, Poder de Escoger. In theory, those two sites should have the exact same offerings, so no one is disadvantaged. But the Texas…

READ MORE
hydro one logo

Ontario introduces new fixed COVID-19 hydro rate

READ MORE

alberta powerline

Alberta Electricity market needs competition

READ MORE

Report: Solar ITC Extension Would Be ‘Devastating’ for US Wind Market

READ MORE

greenland ice sheet

The UK’s energy plan is all very well but it ignores the forecast rise in global sea-levels

READ MORE