Health and safety violations continue to plague the “Tombstone at Ground Zero”.
Located, as it is, beside the scene of the US’ worst peace time atrocity, the Deutsche Bank building in Manhattan has been under the media spotlight since that fateful day in 2001. So you would have thought that, with the eyes of the world upon it, the demolition contractors involved in removing this contaminated blot on the Ground Zero landscape would have put safety first, particularly after the death of two firefighters in the building in 2007.
However, as a letter to contractor Bovis Lend Lease on 29 January points out, the building remains the subject of grave safety concerns following a recent and ongoing spate of accidents and safety violations.
In the letter, letter, LMDC President David Emil warned contractor Bovis Lend Lease that its safety record at the site was a “failure” and its management of the job “unacceptable.” Emil ordered Bovis to shake up top staff and overhaul safety operations immediately.
“There has been a failure by senior management at Bovis to properly manage safety issues,” Emil told The New York Daily News. “We have grave concerns about the quality of their work, and we’re expressing that very forcefully to them.”
It is little wonder. Last month alone, the city Buildings Department slapped Bovis or its subcontractors with at least a dozen safety violations, alleging offenses that could endanger the lives of workers and the safety of the public. That’s more infractions in a single month than any time since the seven-alarm fire. Bovis would not address specific violations; it plans to appeal most of them.
To read the full story, please click here. And to see a list of the health and safety infractions, click here. Alternativiely, click here to view a video report.
