Four years after after an emergency bulletin issued by the U.S. military - with the title "The Unexpected Killer" - at least two other soldiers were electrocuted, according to Pentagon and congressional investigators.
The Defense Contract Management Agency to oversee the maintenance work by contractors at U.S. bases in Iraq has tried to defend himself in a written statement as KBR, which until last year was known as the name of Kellogg, Brown and Root and was a subsidiary of Halliburton.
From Sunday's NYT:
"Defense Contract Management Agency, which is responsible for overseeing maintenance work by contractors at U.S. bases in Iraq, defended his performance. In a written statement, the agency said it had no information that staff members "were aware" of the army or warning "Omis to take appropriate measures in response to unsafe conditions brought to our attention."
Keith Ernst, who resigned Wednesday in the Agency's Director, said, however, that the agency was "stretched too thin in Iraq and that the low number of contract did not have expertise in treating so-called contracts life support, as that awarded to KBR to provide food, shelter and building maintenance. "We do not have the technical capability of monitoring life support systems," he said.
For its part, KBR, which until last year was known as Kellogg, Brown and Root and was a subsidiary of Halliburton, denied that any lapses by the company led to the shock of American soldiers . "KBR's commitment to employee safety and security of those who serves society is unwavering," said a spokesman, Heather Browne. "KBR has found no evidence of a link between the work he has been responsible for conducting and the electric shock.
Ms. Browne has refused to respond to the specific accounts of former KBR electricians.
Electricians have a response ready to anyone who suggests that poor electrical work could be regarded as an inevitable cost of war. "The excuse KBR always used was, 'This is a war zone - what do you expect?" Recalled Jeffrey Bliss, an Ohio electrician who has worked for the company in Afghanistan in 2005 and 2006 . "But if you are going to do the job, you have to be safe."
As the USA invaded Iraq in 2003, tens of thousands of American soldiers were housed in the pre-existing Iraqi government buildings, some of them dangerously dilapidated. As part of its $ 30 billion contract with the Pentagon in Iraq, KBR has been necessary for the repair and updating of many buildings, including their electrical systems. The company manages the maintenance of structures 4000 and 35000 containers housing in the war zone, the Pentagon said.
The legislature and government investigators say it is now clear that the Bush administration subcontracting so much work to KBR and other contractors in Iraq that the agencies responsible for monitoring have been submerged. The defense contractor Management Agency has more than 9000 employees, but has only 60 officers contract in Iraq and Afghanistan 30 to oversee nearly 18000 employees of KBR in Iraq and Afghanistan in 4400 handling maintenance of the base.
"All officers contract can do is check the papers," said an official of the Agency, who asked not be identified. While about 600 army officers to complete the contract officers, M . Ernst said, soldiers are not sufficiently trained for the task.
The Army gave few details of shock, other than to say Saturday that 10 soldiers had been electrocuted in Iraq. A committee of the House also reported that two sailors died the same way. "
Question: The house I own is more than 100 years old, with the old lath boards, plaster, and old, drafty windows. So insulating it is important. One part of the attic has old, blown-in insulation between rafters. It comes up to the top of the rafter. There is some of the old electrical wiring (separate lines for the black and white) in the attic. Should I use the blown-in insulation or pink rolls? Is there a difference? The second story is often cool in the winter, so how much should I use?
-- J.B., Ann Arbor
Answer: Before you start insulating, you need to determine what to do about the older style knob-and-tube wiring in your attic. That system may still be perfectly safe -- if it was properly installed, is in good condition, and hasn't had improper alterations to it over the years. However, the National Electrical Code requires that it be used the way it was originally designed -- and that means the wires have to be ``air-cooled.'' In other words, you can't pile insulation on top of or around it.
Q. I just had a new two-car garage built and I am remodeling the old one-car garage into a family room. I plan to do some of the wiring myself. What are some of the common wiring mistakes I should avoid?
A. If you have ever seen a new house or remodeling project being wired, it looks pretty simple. The electrician just drills some holes in wall studs and runs some heavy insulated wire through the holes to the various conduit boxes throughout the house.
Don't be fooled. It is much more difficult to do it properly, particularly in a remodeling project where the existing framing is retained. If you make a serious mistake, someone could get electrocuted. Minor mistakes can result in a wire overheating inside a wall. If it gets hot enough, a fire can start inside a wall cavity and spread throughout your house quickly.
The first step is to contact your local building inspectors. Check to see if you need a permit and if an unlicensed electrician is even allowed to do electrical work. If you are allowed to do the work yourself, it would still be wise to have an inspector come to check your work before the walls are closed in order to make sure it meets local codes.
Keep in mind, if you do the electrical work, you are responsible for it as long as it exists. If you sell your house 10 years from now and the new owners are injured due to your unlicensed electrical work, you may be liable.
One of the most common wiring mistakes made is drilling clearance holes too close to the edges of a stud. The edge of the hole in the stud should be no closer than 1¼ inches from the edge of the stud. This is to keep nails, driven into the stud for drywall, from reaching and piercing the insulation on the wiring. If a hole must be closer than 1¼ inches, a protective metal nail plate must cover that area of the stud edge.
Even though it saves time, don't group low-voltage, communication and line voltage (120 volt) lines through the same holes in the studs. Line voltage wires carrying standard alternating current can cause interference with communication wires, such as ones from a computer or telephone. Line voltage wires should always be separated at least six inches from other wiring within a wall.
A more serious problem is if a line voltage line shorts out to a communication or low-voltage wire. This not only can cause a fire to start, but it can destroy any equipment attached to the low-voltage wiring. I have seem the entire low-voltage control system on a furnace destroyed in this way.
Plan all your wiring before purchasing the conduit boxes so you know what size boxes to get. Even the proper-sized wiring can get warm when electric current runs through it. Switches and connections with wire nuts can get even warmer. If you group too many wires, switches, etc., into a small conduit box, it may overheat and become a hazard.
Don't ever hang anything, such as a support for a dropped ceiling or a recessed light fixture, from electrical wiring. This can stretch and weaken the insulation over time which may cause higher resistance, overheating or even a short.
By Nicole Tsong
Seattle Times staff reporter
Photovoltaic (solar) panels atop Barbara Roberts' and Fred Huntsman's Ballard home ensure they have almost no electrical bills in summer. On sunny days, they can generate a surplus of power that goes back in the grid for other homes to use.
The Seattle Times Barbara Roberts and Fred Huntsman enjoy a cup of tea in their light-flooded kitchen. They decided to remodel their Ballard home using active solar and passive solar, with large double-paned windows that bring in lots of light and some heat.
Stephanie Brown is addicted to reading how many kilowatts her house's solar-powered system has produced. She records output and the weather daily.
Even when the sky is gray and cloudy, Brown's solar system often will generate a kilowatt or two, reducing her electricity bill through winter. In summer, she pays only about $15 per month.
Until 2003, Brown didn't think she could afford to install the necessary equipment to generate solar power on her West Seattle home. But she refinanced her house and used equity to install the more-affordable hot-water system (about $6,000) and the pricier solar electric system ($28,000), known as photovoltaic.
With current tax breaks and incentives, it generally takes 20 to 25 years to recoup the solar investment, said Mike Nelson, director of the Northwest Solar Center, an extension program of Washington State University.
But new incentives from the state that should be available to residents this year will significantly cut the time it takes to make the money back on a solar electric system.
"I decided it was worthwhile for me to be a pioneer," Brown said.
How solar makes sense here
Seattle's gray winters may seem counterintuitive to investing in solar power, but solar experts point to Germany, the world's leader in solar installations, which receives about 70 percent of the sun Seattle sees.
Since solar power is based on light, not heat, solar systems are still making electricity or heating water in winter. Utilities in Washington state also allow you to bank your summer production and use it in the winter.
The average Seattle home with a solar electrical system receives about 25 to 50 percent of its electricity from the sun, said Nelson. Use electricity conservatively, and it can go even higher.
Solar energy includes active solar, which converts light into energy using equipment or materials, and passive solar, which uses light and heat without additional equipment.
The two most common types of active solar systems for the region include:
• Solar thermal systems: This hot-water system uses solar power to heat water that — in a heat exchange — heats your hot water. The system, which requires a second tank, can be used with electric or gas hot-water systems, and even with on-demand water systems that don't include a tank.
• Photovoltaic systems, or solar electric: This system uses photovoltaic (solar) panels to collect electricity from the sun and transfers it through an inverter into your home's electrical system.
State law requires electric utilities here to provide net metering, which allows you to "bank" electricity your home produces that you don't use, which instead goes into the general grid. You get credit for the energy later.
What does it cost?
Conventional solar electric systems range from $6 to $10 per watt installed, according to the City of Seattle. A 2,000-watt or 2-kilowatt (kW) system would cost $12,000 to $20,000 and generate about 2,000 kilowatt hours per year. The average 2,000-square-foot house in Seattle uses about 10,500 to 11,000 kilowatt hours per year.
A thermal system for heating water typically costs $5,000 to $6,500, said Pam Burton, president of Solar Washington, a nonprofit solar advocacy group.
But the state has new production incentives for utilities to pay solar owners 54 cents per kilowatt produced from solar modules and inverters (which synchronize electricity collected to the grid) made in Washington. For a 3-kW system, that would be roughly $2,000 a year, Nelson said. (A new factory is being built in the state that should provide the modules later this year.)
With those higher payments and other federal tax breaks and state incentives, owners can effectively recoup their investment in seven years once the factory-built panels are available in our state, Nelson said.
When the state authorized production incentive payments of 15 cents per kilowatt produced in 2005, solar systems installed in Washington jumped from about 30 that year to nearly 450 in 2006, he said.
Net metering that lets you bank electricity also makes solar systems more affordable, and the sales tax on photovoltaic and solar hot-water system equipment and installation is waived until 2011.
Nelson considers solar systems an investment similar to the debate on buying a house vs. renting.
"Remember at the end of that time you spent your money, you [still] have it all," he said. "If you bought the electricity, you'd have a drawer full of receipts. The difference is, do you want to be a renter or an owner?"
Passive solar
For those who can't or don't want to invest in an active solar system, passive solar is another option that can be incorporated into remodels or new construction.
Passive solar means siting a building or placing windows, for example, in a way to take full advantage of natural sunlight and using interior materials that retain heat from the sun, such as water, concrete floors or adobe. It also can include natural ventilation, according to the American Solar Energy Society.
Passive solar makes more sense in Eastern Washington, where there is more sunlight, Nelson said, but designing your home with plenty of quality windows for lots of light and good insulation will conserve electricity and heat anywhere.
The big payoff
Barbara Roberts and Fred Huntsman, who added photovoltaic and hot-water systems to their 1929 Ballard home, also included passive solar design in their kitchen remodel, which floods the room with light and provides some heat. With almost no electrical costs in the summer, they say they are thrilled with the results.
"It just makes me happy that I'm doing something in a positive motion instead of being reactive," she said. "It's green, it's not going to pollute the air and I like that tremendously."
Stephanie Brown's electric bill is half of what it once was — $40 to $50 per month in the winter, down from $125 to $140 despite an electric baseboard heating system. Her gas bill is steady at $14 to $16 per month, and her three-person household never runs out of hot water.
She loves her solar lifestyle so much that she's considering installing a solar space-heating system for her basement, with radiant flooring that works by either the sun or water heater warming water in tubes underneath the floors.
"I had several people that said, 'Oh, I didn't think you could do all that in Seattle,' " Brown said. "Trust me, in the summer, the sun is north of us, we're getting plenty."
Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com
