CityCenter has garnered much acclaim for its LEED-certified status and green credentials. But shouldn't part of sustainability include worker safety when that green building is being built? One commentator at Archinect thinks so:
The most potent question remains: What does sustainability mean after all? Few definitions of sustainability address sociological issues. Should “sustainable” also mean sustaining the communities that we build in? LEED has the opportunity to recognize that, despite preserving the ecological environment, “sustainable” buildings can threaten lives as well. It is, after all, lives at stake. The MGM CityCenter in Las Vegas, an $8.5 billion dollar project constructed in 2008, includes six LEED gold rated buildings.[6] Yet six workers died during construction, a rash of tragic deaths that resulted in union picketing and workers refusing to continue on unsafe job sites.[7] Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) responded by opening a new office in Las Vegas which will provide more oversight in the future; yet LEED accreditation went forward unhindered. While the future occupants of the Mirage may enjoy higher productivity and comfort from their individually controlled lighting or thermal systems (credits 6.1, 6.2), the workers who constructed these buildings toiled in life-risking conditions.
