I can not tell you how many times I heard from my very own KBR Safety professionals and managers “That we were in a war zone and OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety) doesn’t apply here (Iraq).” Basically telling me to “cross my fingers and hope for the best.” Electricians really don’t care for that too much.
My General Foreman insisted I work electrical circuits energized. We couldn’t get decent Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). One time we received a whole shipment of “safety glasses”. I don’t know where they came from, but they didn’t have any ANSI Z87 stamp. They were plastic garbage and just crumbled. They provided no protection and were more dangerous because they would have just shattered on impact or melted in an arc flash. When this was brought up, we were told to use them anyway. I was appalled at the nonchalance of our non-American tool room attendant. I took it straight to the HSE Manager. I was surprised when I learned my HSE manager did not approve or have control over PPE that is purchased by someone other than himself. Hmmmm. That’s interesting.
Gloves were also an issue. KBR purchased crappy canvas paper garbage for gloves. KBR also had this “one size fits all” PPE mentality. At that point I just took control of my own PPE and purchased safety glasses and gloves with my own money from the States and had then sent over. But I do suspect KBR was charging premium for the garbage they were purchasing and issuing.
The point of this post is not KBR and their crappy PPE. My point is that I was reading over the Statement of Work (SOW) for a past Task Order and ran across this section.
1.1.2. Worksite Safety. The contractor shall be responsible for safety of employees and base camp residents during all contractor operations conducted in accordance with this Statement of Work and the Army and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety regulations and guidance as it applies to the Iraq Theater of Operations.
So, my question is. “How does it apply to the Iraq Theater of Operations?” Are they (KBR) to adhere to Army and OSHA safety regulations? Or is this just another attempt by the DoD to say “we tried to write it in”, but then let the KBR attorney’s pick it apart and they say “they don’t have to”?
If it’s true that KBR is responsible for the safety of their employees, then every attorney representing killed or injured employees due to KBR’s alleged negligence needs to get a copy of these Statements of Work for their specific Task Orders and read it. FYI if you are going to do a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request you will need the LOGCAP III contract number which is DAAA09-02-D-0007.
I am trying to get a list of all the Task Order numbers, with dates and location. If someone has that please send it to me.
If you have a copy of a Statement of Work (SOW) for a specific Task Order please send it to me so I can read it.
Ms Sparky
