LAS VEGAS, July 28 (UPI) -- Construction-related fatalities in Nevada have prompted a series of investigations amid allegations that safety regulators are ineffective, sources said.
After two men died and another was left with permanent disabilities fixing sewer pipe a large grease trap at the Orleans hotel and casino, two political appointees helped downgrade a Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety report from "willful" violations to "serious" the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
A series of cases, including a dozen fatalities in the past 16 months, ended with reduced penalties, the Times reported.
The state Attorney General's Office is investigating the two appointees, Mendy Elliot and D. Roger Bremner, on possible ethics violations. The U.S. Labor Department has sent investigators to review the state's Occupation and Safety Health Act office.
The U.S. House Education and Labor Committee is also investigating, the report said.
Nevada is undergoing a construction boom with $31 billion in projects underway and $25 billion more planned for the Las Vegas area, the Times reported.
But some union workers have left their jobs over safety concerns. "We're concerned about the lack of oversight by Nevada OSHA," Steven Ross of the Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council, told the Times.
"It's a broken system," he said.
