Lights are switched at Global House after leaked report
New lights are now being installed at Global House just four days after a leaked report exposed how the health of workers had been put at risk.Works and Engineering staff could yesterday be seen fitting the new lights at several locations within the building on Church Street.The workers said they had been instructed to immediately rip out the potentially dangerous LED fixtures and replace them with fluorescent tube lights.The fluorescent lights are understood to be almost identical to the fixtures that were taken out and replaced about two years ago at a cost of up to $100,000.It is not known how much the remedial refit will cost and who will foot the bill, which could run into tens of thousands of dollars.The Royal Gazette understands that Premier Paula Cox called for immediate action after the damning report prompted a public backlash.The Government workers were brought in to make the changes after Ms Cox held urgent talks with Public Works Minister and Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess and former Public Works Permanent Secretary Robert Horton.Those employees who raised health concerns about the ‘cave effect’ of the blue-tinted lights are understood to have had their lights replaced first. But all 1,300 energy-saving lights look set to be changed back to fluorescent lights as soon as possible.This newspaper revealed on Monday that Mr Burgess went against the advice of technical officers and gave the go-ahead to install the LED lamps which were found to be a “clear violation” of health and safety regulations, as well as the building and electrical codes.The damning report by the Electrical Section of the Ministry of Works and Engineering highlighted a series of errors about the LED installation. It stated that no proper feasibility study was carried out, technical officers had raised concerns in advance about poor lighting levels, the light bulbs installed were not certified with a recognised electrical testing laboratory, and an electrical permit for the lights was not applied for.The old light fixtures could be seen being loaded into a Works and Engineering van, which was parked on the sidewalk outside Global House first thing yesterday morning.Then by about 10.15am three Works and Engineering workers were piling boxes of the new lights into the elevator to distribute them to each floor of the building.Three workers on the third floor, outside the Attorney General’s office, could be seen using a ladder to adjust the fixtures.They said: “We’ve been ordered to change the lights” then said they were “working from the top of the building, down to the bottom”.In the corridor of the third floor there was a pile of about 15 boxes each containing the words ‘SATCO HYGRADE fluorescent lamp’. SATCO is a New York manufacturer and its website states that this type of fixture boasts energy savings, high performance, efficiency and colour retention.The website explains the fluorescent lamps meet RoHS standards and have an average lifespan of 24,000 hours, but there is no mention of cost.Bill Gildin, president of SATCO Products, is reported as saying: “SATCO HYGRADE is the brand of choice for any commercial application, due to its high standards of performance, reliability, sustainability and value.”Electrical Technology Management (ETM) was given the contract to install the energy-saving lighting at Global House in early 2009. But president and owner Leroy Robinson said he was not involved in yesterday’s replacement work.The story in Monday’s paper highlighted the “serious shortcomings” of the LED lamps in terms of quality and level of light, which could negatively affect a worker’s health, performance and job satisfaction.It triggered angry reactions from many readers with The Royal Gazette website story attracting almost 50 comments.The online comments included: ‘Here we go again’, ‘Hypocrisy at its finest’, ‘How much longer can we put up with such incompetence and dishonesty’ and ‘PLP doing more for themselves and less for the taxpayers since 1998’. While one person simply wrote: ‘Mickey Mouse’.Meanwhile, One Bermuda Alliance branded the situation “an avoidable mess” saying it could have been avoided if the Minister’s decisions were “guided by what best served the public interest.”Auditor General Heather Matthews also said she was taking the issue “very seriously” and vowed to give it “due consideration.”Mr Burgess, who is understood to currently be out of the office, has not made any formal statements on the issue.The Royal Gazette invited the Ministry of Public Works to comment, but nothing had been received by press time last night.