US soldiers assigned to guard a crucial part of Iraq's oil infrastructure became ill after exposure to a highly toxic chemical at the plant
They were bleeding from the nose, spitting blood.
There apparently were hundreds of American soldiers at this site that were contaminated.
And who do they and others accuse
Langford is one of nine Americans who accuse KBR, the lead contractor on the Qarmat Ali project and one of the largest defense contractors in Iraq, of knowingly exposing them to sodium dichromate, an orange, sandlike chemical that is a potentially lethal carcinogen. Specialists say even short-term exposure to the chemical can cause cancer, depress an individual's immune system, attack the liver, and cause other ailments.
And
"Hundreds of US troops, who may not even know of their exposure to sodium dichromate that could one day result in a horrible disease, cancers, and death," he said.
What is 'Sodium Dichromate':
Sodium dichromate is the same substance that poisoned residents in Hinkley, Calif., an incident made famous by the movie "Erin Brockovich" in 2000.
It's one of the extremely dangerous chemical's, potential killers, that industries world wide use, and they know the dangers of exposure to, and under responsible corporations is used with guarded caution and safety checks.
Langford and his former colleagues have said KBR supervisors initially told them the chemical was a "mild irritant". The company, however, eventually acknowledged that sodium dichromate was a potentially deadly substance and moved to clean up the site.
Of course KBR denies and says the safety of the workers and troops are of the "highest priority", what else would war profitteering, incompetent corporate officials say, after all they heed their investors not the worker, troops, or country paying them under the no-bid contracts!
And
The Pentagon has said that the troops' exposure to sodium dichloride at the Iraqi facility did not appear to pose any long-term threat.
But
In yesterday's hearing, however, Langford described for the first time how soldiers guarding the facility had the same symptoms as those who had dangerous levels of exposure to the chemical, complaints that are the foundation for the workers' lawsuit.
"The chromium of Iraq is going to be the same thing as Agent Orange of Vietnam," Langford said after the hearing. "I want something done for them."
Along with one of KBR's own
Edward Blacke, who served as KBR's health, safety, and environmental coordinator for the Qarmat Ali project, said he saw soldiers with "continuous bloody noses, spitting up of blood, coughing, irritation of the noses, eyes, throat, and lungs, shortness of breath."
And
Max Costa, chairman of the Department of Environmental Medicine at New York University, told the committee that ordinary blood and urine tests would not have detected heavy levels of sodium dichromate exposure after a few days. He said that the military would have had to conduct a highly specialized red blood cell test within four months of the exposure to determine the soldiers' risk of illness.
"Most people don't get it right," said Costa, after the hearing. "It is not an established test that medical labs normally do."
Pee in a cup, "You're alright, don't worry!"!
And as we've found out already over and over and over..........................., once again, we've gone through all this before,
But Dorgan said yesterday that the Pentagon has not done enough to monitor the health of the soldiers and ensure that KBR and other contractors are putting safety first.
And what does the esteem congress have to say
"It is almost unbelievable," the senator said during the hearing. "We know that there has been exposure of workers and soldiers to a deadly chemical, and there has been, in my judgment, lack of accountability by those who caused the exposure and lack of accountability at the Department of Defense, regrettably."
Lack of Accountibility??
No F'in S**t Einstein, what have the People been saying all along!!
I give kudo's to the present Congress, at least they are doing their jobs, the jobs that weren't done by the previous Congress. Investigating, Hearings and Oversite as these things keep coming forward, and not a whisper was heard about any of these in the Halls of the 109th Congress.
But the reason you all are there is 'Accountability', from the Top all the way Down, including your own!
Dorgan began investigating the workers' allegations of sodium dichromate exposure after The Boston Globe reported on the case in March.
ACCOUNTABILITY
ACCOUNTABILITY
ACCOUNTABILITY
It's in the Constitution and the Laws of this Country,Use It or We Loose It!!
DPC Hearing
The Exposure at Qarmat Ali:
Contractor Misconduct and the Safety of U.S. Troops in Iraq
Friday, June 20, 2008
10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
608 Dirksen Senate Office Building
The Exposure at Qarmat Ali: WMD's Iraq = KBR
Additional hearing information is available here
Oversight and Accountability Project
Staff at the DPC Oversight and Accountability Project work with whistleblowers, non-profit groups, Executive Branch agencies, and their colleagues on Capitol Hill to protect U.S. taxpayers, uncover waste, fraud and abuse, and hold government officials accountable.
The DPC has focused on contracting abuses in Iraq and in the Gulf Coast region following Hurricane Katrina, pre-war intelligence failures, and continuing homeland security vulnerabilities, among other issues.
Learn more about the Oversight and Accountability Project and access materials related to hearings held by the DPC.
Aware of waste, fraud or abuse that
DPC should investigate? E-mail us.
We are a nation that likes to pride itself on truth, justice, freedom and humanity. {NO MORE!}
Give Some Traffic To the articles. Just picked them up and they were posted in the last 20hrs. or so:
Ark. man, others blame KBR for contaminants in Iraq
An Arkansas man who worked as a contractor in Iraq says he lost his job after warning workers they were being exposed to a cancer-causing chemical there.
Ed Blacke, a former safety inspector for Houston-based contracting giant KBR, says his exposure to sodium dichromate in 2003 gave him chronic thyroid problems and early signs of cancer. He said supervisors initially ignored his warnings about contamination at the Qarmat Ali water injection plant near Basra, Iraq.
Democrats accuse KBR of knowingly exposing workers to deadly chemical at Iraqi water plant
Senate Democrats are accusing defense contractor KBR of knowingly exposing its employees and U.S. troops to a potentially deadly chemical in Iraq in its rush to get the country's oil infrastructure up and running.
Former contractors say Ind. soldiers were exposed to carcinogen
Indiana National Guardsmen who provided protection to defense contractors at a water pumping plant in Iraq were exposed to a potentially deadly chemical, two former workers at the site said Friday.
"People are potentially exposed to something that may be very dangerous," says a memo detailing minutes from an August 8, 2003 meeting
These aren't just local rags here in the states, just these few are in the International Edition of the New York Time, from Australia, and google gives some 93 others under 'Sodium Dichromate'.
"She was an awesome soldier who died doing the job that she loved"
Corporal Bryant, Corporal Sean Robert Reeve and Paul Stout were among the victims
That information pertained to 
Helping hand: Children learn primary level education via sign language at Duc Ninh Centre in Quang Binh Province’s Dong Hoi town.The centre is home to 76 children with varying disabilities caused by the effects of Agent Orange. — VNA Photo Duong Ngoc
The sorrow of war: Le Thi Mit holds her son Nguyen Van Truong, 17, in their house in Quang Tri Province’s Cam Lo District. The area was heavily sprayed with Agent Orange during the war. — VNS Photo Truong Vi
Bitter inheritance: Nurses carry out health checks for children living at Hai Duong Province’s Social Support Centre. All the children at the centre have parents or grandparents who were exposed to Agent Orange during the American War. — VNA Photo Trong Duc
Providing support: 31-year-old Bui Thi Giang in Quang Tan Commune, Quang Xuong District, Thanh Hoa Province sits in the new wheelchair she received from VAVA’s provincial branch. — VNA Photo Duong Ngoc