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Safety standards in the German construction industry were highlighted by the explosion of a buried bomb on a building site in Berlin, Germany, in 1994. The bomb was left over from the 1939-1945 war and companies working on government contracts have to carry out checks for such bombs, but not for private sector work. Many German construction companies are small, and many employees work in the informal sector with little control of safety. Attitudes tend to be short-term due to high levels of competition in the industry.