Senate investigates Iraq contractor KBR for exposing servicemen to hazardous chemical

Senate investigates Iraq contractor KBR for exposing servicemen to hazardous chemical
On Capitol Hill today, lawmakers heard from US troops who were exposed to a chemical that causes respiratory problems. The chemical, sodium dichromate was used by government contractor Kellogg Brown and Root at a water treatment plant in Qarmat Ali, Iraq.

The hearing was convened by the Democratic Policy Committee, Chair Senator Byron Dorgan explained the reasons the reasons for continuing this investigation six years after the events in Qarmat Ali.

“At our previous hearing the person at this site for the contractor for Kellogg Brown and Root who was responsible for safety said he went to the company and said we´ve got a problem this site is not safe. The reaction of this contractor, to put him on a plane and send him out of the country. That was the reaction of Kellogg Brown and Root.”

Soldiers who worked at that plant say they came back home with respiratory infections and breathing problems, allegedly from exposure to sodium dichromate, which is used to prevent pipes from corroding. One of the Qarmat Ali veterans was David Moore, a member of the Indiana National Guard who died of lung cancer last year.

Some of the soldiers who served at Qarmat Ali have filed a lawsuit against KBR, where they argue the contractor failed to acknowledge the threat sodium dichromate posed to people´s health and ignored respiratory symptoms shown by soldiers working at the plant.

Russell Powell is a former member of the West Virginia National Guard who worked at the plant. Powell testified at today´s hearing.

“While I was at Qarmat Ali, I began suffering from severe nose bleeds.  Within three days at arriving at the plant in April 2003, I developed rashes on my knuckles, hands and forearms. I never had any problems before working at Qarmat Ali and I was very healthy beforehand.”

The hearing is raising questions about the Pentagon´s response to service members, like Powell, who had presented their complaints to army doctors and personnel.

KBR has been the subject of previous congressional hearings. And the company is currently facing a criminal investigation for its role in the death of a soldier who was electrocuted at an Iraq base, because of flawed wiring at his barrack´s showers.