W.Va. guardsmen sue KBR over chemical exposure

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news/2009/06/ap_guard_kbr_wva_chemicals_062709

The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Jun 27, 2009 13:11:42 EDT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Seven members of the West Virginia National Guard who protected a water plant in southern Iraq are suing KBR Inc., claiming the military contractor in charge of the project knowingly exposed them to a highly toxic chemical.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, alleges that KBR failed to tell members of the 1092nd Engineering Battalion that they were being exposed to hexavalent chromium, a potent and sometimes lethal chemical linked to cancer and other illnesses.

The lawsuit follows similar ones filed on behalf of members of Guard units from Oregon and Indiana who also served at Qarmat Ali in 2003, while KBR repaired a water-treatment plant. They allege KBR concealed knowledge of the dangerous conditions and said the soldiers’ symptoms, including nosebleeds, were due to dry desert air.

KBR has denied any wrongdoing.

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