3 million work hours, but few injuries at Ground Zero.

With more than three million work hours logged in at Ground Zero, the rate of injury that resulted in lost workdays has been remarkably low, according to labor and management leaders of the city's construction industry.

According to data released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), after more than six months of work, only 35 workers at Ground Zero lost workdays due to an injury incurred at the site. Of the 35 reported cases, none were life threatening.

"Given the complex nature of the work and the number of hours logged in at Ground Zero, this is a truly remarkable statistic," said Edward J. Malloy, president of the BCTC, the union representing workers at the site.

The Lost Workday Injury and Illness Rate (LWDII) at the site is 2.3. The LWDII rate is calculated by dividing the number of OSHA recorded injuries by

the number of hours worked. While Ground Zero is a unique site, the closest comparison in site category is specialty construction, which includes demolition. The LWDII rate at a typical specialty construction site is 4.3.

Last November, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao joined the BTEA, BCTC, representatives from the City of New York, OSHA, the FDNY and the contractors working at Ground Zero, in signing a worker safety agreement for the World Trade Center Emergency Project.

The safety accord included:

* Prevention of occupational related fatalities and serious injuries and illnesses for all workers involved in the WTC Emergency project.

* Compliance with and implementation of the WTC Emergency Project Environmental, Safety and Health Plan.

* Immediate abatement of all serious hazards.

* The sharing of all exposure monitoring data to include sampling for air contaminants, noise, heat and cold, radiation and biological agents.

* The sharing of all information regarding safety hazards.

OSHA entered into another safety agreement on April 10 with BOVIS/AMEC, the site's construction manager, and the BCTC and BTEA, in order to continue protecting workers at the site. It was signed by all parties at the Leadership Committee meeting of the Ground Zero Safety Committee.

The new agreement, which supplements the pact of November 2001, calls for the construction manager to hold each contractor and subcontractor accountable for implementing and complying with the environmental safety and health plan and OSHA's construction standards, ensures that all workers receive mandatory training and stops work and implements corrective action to abate all unsafe or unhealthy conditions.