Saturday, July 04, 2009
Hexavalent chromium
In addition to facing multiple class action lawsuits by U.S. soldiers over its open pit burning of garbage in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense contractor KBR Inc. is being sued by National Guardsmen from around the country for allegedly causing their exposure to a cancer-causing chemical. Guardsmen from Oregon, Indiana and West Virginia were part of the same unit charged with guarding an Iraqi water treatment plant in 2003 that KBR was hired to repair. The lawsuit contends the soldiers were exposed to the carcinogen hexavalent chromium because KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton, failed to warn them and take precautions.
Hexavalent chromium was made famous in the 2000 film Erin Brockovich, which told the true story of residents of a small California town who won a multi-million dollar lawsuit after their water was poisoned by the chemical compound.
As a result of their exposure to the chemical in Iraq, the Guardsmen contend they have contracted numerous and debilitating health problems, including severe respiratory ailments, lung cancer, prolonged migraine headaches, rashes, ear troubles, and more.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Lawsuit Claims Some National Guardsmen were Poisoned in Iraq (by Erica Peterson, West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
Did Toxic Chemical in Iraq Cause GIs' illnesses? (by Sharon Cohen, Associated Press)
KBR Sued by Guard Members Over Iraq Chromium Exposure (by Laurel Brubaker Calkins, Bloomberg)
Lawsuit Against KBR (U.S. District Court Northern West Virginia) (PDF)
U.S. Soldiers Sue Halliburton/KBR over Garbage Burning Illness and Death (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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