For troops in Iraq, shower may be fatal: 1/3 of those inspected have major electrical problems

[babylonsister]

AP IMPACT: For troops in Iraq, shower may be fatal

By KIMBERLY HEFLING
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) -- 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."

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_ELECTROCUTIONS?SITE=CONGRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[billyoc]

1. It pays to go with the union card every time.

Those structures were all built with untrained slave labor.

[billybob537]

4. Haliburton made BILLIONS in Iraq for fraud

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. They have known about this for how long now?

And they are JUST NOW getting around to looking at these showers???

[babylonsister]

3. I hear you. Beyond pathetic. Criminal. nt