Shining a light on contractor deaths

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/sixel/4831418.html

L.M. Sixel: Working

May 23, 2007, 11:14PM
WORKING
Shining a light on contractor deaths

By L.M. SIXEL
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

I'm sure you've seen the signs.

Placed at the entrance to many refineries and chemical plants are the pronouncements that employees have worked 1 million or 10 million or 100 million man-hours without a lost-time accident.

What you don't see is the fine print.

When companies report the number of on-the-job injuries, illnesses and deaths to federal safety regulators, they ignore a big group of workers: contractors.

The largely silent group of workers who do everything from heavy maintenance to electrical installation aren't included in a plant's safety and health data logs.

And that means Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulators, who pick the companies they inspect based partly on the number of injuries and deaths, never know about the potential industrial dangers lurking behind the fence.

FULL story at link.