From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 3/31/2007 3:09 AM
March 27th 2007 · Prague Watchdog / Ruslan Isayev     
    
    
Maiming and injuries among Grozny construction workers

By Ruslan Isayev

GROZNY, Chechnya – There has been a sharp rise in injuries among construction workers engaged in the rebulding of Grozny. This has been directly confirmed by doctors at the reception ward of Grozny’s City Hospital No. 9, where the maimed and injured workers are taken.

The main reason for this situation is a complete failure to observe safety standards in construction work. Many people who have no experience of work on high-rise buildings are none the less hired to carry it out. It is quite frequently possible to see elderly women or young children carrying out painting work as they stand on scaffolding right at the top of the building. The scaffolding often lacks guard rails, with the result that people fall off.

Moreover, construction workers in Grozny have no protective helmets, even though 80 per cent of the work involves bricklaying. There are falling objects, such as tools and heavy building materials: bricks, hammers, boards, metal plates, and so on. Local residents are frequently injured as they walk or drive past buildings which have no barrier or warning tape around them.

One recent case occurred in the Chernorechye area on the outskirts of Grozny, where speedy construction work is also underway. A board that fell from the roof of a five-story apartment block struck the head of an 8-year-old girl who was walking in the courtyard below.

In one neighbourhood the sheet of reinforce concrete between two floors collapsed into an apartment. Fortunately there was no one at home at the time. Far less lucky was the 15-year-old construction worker standing on the sheet at the time. He was taken to Hospital No. 9 with a fractured pelvis.

In Grozny’s Staropromyslovsky district some construction workers received severe burns from a fire which broke out in one of the apartments that was being repaired.

There are very many such incidents, but the official data on injuries among construction workers is not advertised to the public, as those who undertake this dangerous work have no insurance contracts. In this case, the employer takes no responsibility for the life and health of the employees.
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