The subject, electrical wiring, may sound too mundane to generate a scandal. This is not about sex as in the sad saga of Larry Craig. There is no prospect of the scandal bringing down the government as witnessed in Watergate. The best comparison is to Tea Pot Dome in the l920s when connections to officials in high places led to money and corruption. The electrical wiring scandal is about shoddy work by private contractors causing death and injury to our soldiers and marines in Iraq.

KBR, the Houston based company, is the largest contractor in Iraq, with contracts in the billions to provide food and shelter services for American troops. They are responsible for housing and since the U.S. invasion in 2003, tens of thousands of American troops have been living in Iraqi buildings that date from the Saddam Hussein era. KBR officials report that they handle the maintenance, repair and upgrade for 4,000 structures and an additional 35,000 containers used as housing in the war zone. KBR, a former Halliburton division, has been involved in disputes about over-billing, providing unsafe water to soldiers and failing to protect female employees who were sexually assaulted. The latest events center on faulty electrical wiring causing death, injury and shocks to American troops since they began arriving in Iraq in 2003.

The story did not hit the headlines until a Green Beret, Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, was electrocuted in January, 2008, while taking a shower at a Baghdad compound. His death, the result of poor electrical grounding, came to the attention of lawmakers and Pentagon leaders after his family pushed for answers, On July l8, 2008, The New York Times in their lead front-page article broke the entire story based on Army documents they had access to from the Pentagon.

Here are some of the facts revealed in those documents:

• The Pentagon reported 13 Americans electrocuted in Iraq. Many others have been injured, some seriously, by shocks.

• From August 2006 to January 2007, at least 283 electrical fires destroyed or damaged American military facilities, including the military's largest dining hall in the country.

• Two soldiers died in an electrical fire at their base near Tikrit in 2006.

• One soldier was injured while jumping from a burning guard tower in May 2007.

• June, 2008, an electrical fire at a Marine base in Falluja destroyed 10 buildings, causing marines to ask for donations from home to replace their personal belongings.

• A log kept at one building complex in Baghdad showed that soldiers complained daily of receiving electrical shocks in their living quarters.

• July 5, 2008. Sergeant First Class Anthony Woodham of the Arkansas National Guard died at his base in Tallil, Iraq. Reports put the cause at electrocution.

• According to an Army survey issued in February 2007, electrical problems were the most urgent noncombatant safety hazards for soldiers in Iraq. It said, "a safety threat theater wide created by the poor-quality electrical fixtures procured and installed, sometimes incorrectly, thus resulting in a significant number of fires."

The New York Times obtained internal documents, memos, email messages and reports from the Army, the Defense Contract Management Agency and other agencies that show the electrical problems were widely known to be a major safety hazard. No single document adds up the total number of deaths and injuries. The records were compiled for Congressional and Pentagon investigations that have begun. The question remains-why did it take the death of a Green Beret in his shower to address the deplorable conditions that existed at military bases throughout Iraq?

One official has taken the career risk of speaking out publicly. Ingrid Harrison, of the Pentagon's contracting management agency, revealed that an electrical fire caused by poor wiring in a building adjacent to where Sergeant Maseth died, had endangered two other soldiers. "The soldiers were lucky because the one window that they could reach did not have bars on it, or there could have been two other fatalities." Ms. Harrison also spoke about electrical problems at the Radwaniya Palace Complex, (RPC) near Baghdad's airport, where Sergeant Maseth died.

"KBR has been at RPC for over four years and was fully aware of the safety hazards, violations and concerns regarding the soldiers' housing." She concluded that the contractor "chose to ignore the known unsafe conditions."

Heather Browne, a KBR spokeswoman, declined to comment about the reports of electrical fires or shocks. She said that KBR had found no evidence of a link between its work and the electrocutions. She stated, "KBR's commitment to the safety of all employees and of all those the company serves remains unwavering." In public statements Pentagon officials have focused on the death of Sergeant Maseth rather than the extent of the hazards described in the internal documents that have now reached the public. It is widely known that KBR turned over certain of the electrical work to subcontactors, some of whom hired unskilled Iraqis, who were paid a few dollars a day. Several electricians who worked for KBR said in interviews that they had warned KBR managers and Pentagon and military officials repeatedly about unsafe electrical work. They said that their concerns had been ignored.

Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight, released Pentagon emails that showed failure to react after the February 2007 survey report was released. James O.Kane, the contract safety specialist with the Defense Contract Management Agency, wrote, "I am concerned that electrical issues were identified; lack of action with regard to any correction action, or increased surveillance, results in direct liability issues for our agency as well as individuals who were briefed regarding this finding." This email message was sent to top DCMA officials, one of whom responded , "What report?" Other top DCMA officials agreed that they had no knowledge of the safety hazards due to electrical problems.

Chairman Waxman wrote to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on July l8, the day the Times article broke into the headlines. "It appears there are significant deficiencies in electrical systems throughout Iraq, that these deficiencies present an ongoing threat to our troops, and that despite hundreds of electrical fires, the department and KBR have done little to address the widespread safety risk." In response, KBR stuck to their categorical denial, that the company had "found no evidence of a link between the work the military asked KBR to perform and the reported deaths that have resulted from electrocution." A Pentagon spokesman did not respond to the Waxman letter to Secretary Gates. Five Democratic senators sent a letter to Secretary Gates, calling for the Pentagon to order an independent inspection "by someone both well-qualified and objective" of electrical work at all bases in Iraq.

Meanwhile, thousands of our troops are living every day in dangerous quarters. This may not be a scandal big enough to bring down an administration. But it involves life and death issues for American troops and certainly ranks as a first class disgrace!

Joyce S. Anderson's articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer and other national publications. She is the author of "Courage in High Heels," "Flaw in the Tapestry," "If Winter Comes" and "The Mermaids Singing." She can be reached at JSAWrite@aol.com.