Houston Press Details KBR Qarmat Ali Litigation
On February 15, 2012, he Houstont Press published an extended article about the ongoing litigation by U.S. and British servicemen against KBR for exposure to sodium dichromate (hexavalent chromium) during the Iraq War. Sodium dichromate, a known toxic and carcinogenic chemical, was spread throughout the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant worksite in Iraq. KBR hired the U.S. and British defense forces to provide security to the plant. At the time, KBR was aware of the dangers posed to the servicemen, but did not inform the military or the soldiers, or take precautions to protect them from exposure. As a result, many of the soldiers are now suffering the health consequences of KBR’s actions.
Litigation in the matter is currently ongoing in the United States District Courts for the Southern District of Texas and the District of Oregon.
More than 200 soldiers are suing KBR for knowingly exposing them to toxic chemicals in Iraq, whose effects started with nose bleeds and could end with cancer. KBR says that didn’t happen. But even if it did, the company isn’t responsible. Taxpayers are.
Larry Roberta, a specialist in the Oregon National Guard, sat on a stack of sacks brimming with one of the most carcinogenic chemicals known to man and chomped on his chicken patty.
Unsuccessful in his mission to swap his rations with any of the British soldiers, who were stocked with heavenly corned beef hash and chocolate pudding, he braved the mystery meat’s gooey coating while keeping an eye on the contractors’ trailer a few yards away. While the Kellogg Brown & Root guys ate inside the trailer, Roberta could’ve taken lunch in one of the vehicles, but he figured vehicles were prime targets for any insurgents or Saddam loyalists who might be scouring the area. Better to suffer the hundred-plus-degree heat.
To Roberta’s knowledge, the chicken patty, with its gooey coating, was the only toxic substance he was currently in contact with. The sand around the sacks was mixed with a dark-orange, crystalline powder, but it didn’t faze him — the entire water-injection facility he was guarding was filthy with chemical residue.
For Full Story Please Go to Houston Press: http://www.houstonpress.com/2012-02-16/news/kbr-chemicals-soldiers-nosebleeds-cancer/
Short URL: https://kbrlitigation.com/?p=2452
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on Feb 16 2012. Filed under Blog, Houston Press, Local Newspapers, Qarmat Ali Blog.
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