By Jon Murray – Posted: February 25, 2010
IndyStar.com
LTC James C. Gentry in Baghdad died of cancer in November 2009 after exposure to sodium dichromate at Qarmat Ali
A federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit accusing a large defense contractor of concealing the risks faced by nearly 140 Indiana National Guard soldiers potentially exposed to a cancer-causing agent in Iraq.
The ruling did not address any of the claims in the lawsuit, which could still be pursued elsewhere by the attorneys for the 47 Indiana Guard soldiers serving as plaintiffs. Chief Judge Richard L. Young ruled that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana lacks “personal jurisdiction” over Texas-based KBR and several related companies.
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The dismissal was based in part on a finding that the actions at issue in the suit took place outside Indiana even if the health effects are only being felt now. And the KBR companies’ limited contacts in Indiana — they have no offices here but have held contracts in Indiana — amount to an insufficient business footprint.
Mike Doyle, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, said the legal team plans to file a new version of the lawsuit in another jurisdiction as soon as possible, but he did not specify where. (Read the rest of the story here…)
Veterans exposed to hexavalent chromium deserve lifelong health care and Purple Hearts, Sen. Ron Wyden says
By Julie Sullivan, The Oregonian
February 18, 2010, 8:45PM
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden watches as Larry Roberta, an Oregon veteran who suffers breathing and stomach problems from exposure to hexavalent chromium, coughs during a news conference in Portland. "There was no way to get away from it,'' Roberta said. "Our job was to watch KBR's back and make sure they were OK." (the Oregonian)
Veterans exposed to cancer-causing hexavalent chromium in Iraq — including nearly 300 Oregon soldiers — should be treated as if they’d hit a roadside bomb and receive lifelong medical care and Purple Hearts, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said Thursday.
Ten Oregon Army National Guard veterans who were exposed to the chemical while protecting war contractor KBR’s employees stood with the Oregon Democrat a news conference to acknowledge their “invisible wounds” and to hold the contractor accountable. When one veteran began to cough violently and struggled for breath at the podium, Wyden’s alarm turned to outrage.
“Precautions should have been taken and they were not, that is inexcusable,” Wyden said. “That soldiers have become critically ill and suffer respiratory diseases and skin rashes that, again, is inexcusable.” (Read the rest of the story here…)
Lawyers for the war contractor Kellogg, Brown & Root on Monday asked a federal judge to dismiss an Oregon Army National Guard soldiers’ lawsuit against it, saying the court in Oregon lacks jurisdiction.
The challenge before U.S. District Judge Paul Papak in Portland is being watched closely in Indiana and West Virginia where National Guard soldiers have also sued KBR, Inc. The Houston-based holding company and its four subsidiaries won contracts to restore oil production after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. National Guard troops were ordered to guard KBR employees as they raced to get the oil flowing. (Read the rest of the story here…)
British veteran joins W.Va. National Guard lawsuit
By Andrew Clevenger – February 4, 2010
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A retired sergeant of the Royal Air Force has joined members of the West Virginia National Guard in a lawsuit alleging that they were exposed to a toxic chemical by a government contractor in Iraq in 2003, becoming the first British veteran to sue over the exposure.
In an amended complaint filed Thursday in federal court in West Virginia’s Northern District, Andrew M. Tosh, 44, of Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, maintains that officials with KBR Inc. knew about dangerous levels of sodium dichromate, a potent carcinogen, at the Qarmat Ali water-treatment plant months before they informed American and British troops guarding the facility. (Read the rest of the story here…)
Soldiers Fight in the Courts Over Liability in War Zones
By DIONNE SEARCEY – JANUARY 7, 2010
LTC James C. Gentry Indiana National Guard Commander died November 26, 2009 of exposure to sodium dichromate from Qarmat Ali
A recent lawsuit brought by a group of Indiana National Guardsman spotlights a controversial legal doctrine that prevents soldiers on active duty from seeking compensation for injuries sustained in war zones.
The guardsman allege that a mission to help clean up a water treatment plant in southern Iraq left them with what they say are potentially fatal illnesses.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Indiana, the Guardsmen allege that oil company KBR Inc. “disregarded and downplayed” the fact that the site at Qarmat Ali was coated with the hazardous chemical sodium dichromate. They were exposed, they say, to the chemical that is used as an industrial anti-corrosive agent to protect pipes.
As a result, the soldiers suffered “unprotected, unknowing, direct exposure to one of the most potent carcinogens and mutagenic substances known to man,” alleges the suit, which seeks monetary compensation for health problems the soldiers say they have suffered. (Read the rest of the story here…)
By Julie Sullivan December 28, 2009
ROCKAWAY — The Naylor living room is all playroom, cleared to toddle, cuddle and roll. But when Dad’s home, the children often head to the back bedroom to play quietly with Mom.
Six years after Guy Naylor returned from Iraq, he can’t stand the clamor of his own family. The soft-spoken dialysis technician shouted at other drivers so often, his family moved to Rockaway to escape Portland traffic. The medic who ran every day has gained 80 pounds. Joint pain wakes him. He coughs so much, his patients constantly ask if he has a cold. He swallows nine different medications a day. Up from none. (Read the rest of the story here…)
NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Indiana National Guardsman Lt. Col. Jim Gentry has been given the dubious distinction of being the first American soldier known to die from exposure to a cancer-causing toxin while serving in Iraq.
Gentry, 52, of Williams, just north of the Hoosier National Forest, died of lung cancer more than a week ago. He was buried Tuesday in New Albany.
The carcinogen was hexavalent chromium. It has been linked to leukemia and several kinds of cancers, as well as to liver and kidney damage. The Iraqis had used it to prevent corrosion in pipes used to pump water into the ground at an oil-pumping site.
The rust-colored poison was blown onto the clothes and into the faces of hundreds of unknowing soldiers in one of southern Iraq’s wind-swept deserts.
“I’m dying now because of it,” Gentry said 11 months ago while answering questions from lawyers embroiled in a legal battle over who is to blame for hundreds of soldiers’ exposure to the chemical.
Gentry, of the 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry of the Indiana National Guard, commanded more than 600 soldiers in Iraq, including about 140 from Indiana.
He is included among a growing group of those soldiers who are suing Houston-based defense contractor KBR Inc., which the soldiers blame for not properly protecting them.
In the early stages of the war in 2003, the Qarmat Ali facility, which pumped water into the ground to boost oil production, was looted and abandoned. KBR, then a subsidiary of Halliburton, was hired to rebuild the facility and restart operations there.
Reports have indicated that upon abandoning the plant, Iraqis slashed open containers in which the toxin was stored. The frequent high winds blew the rust-colored chemical onto the ground and into the air around the facility.
American and British soldiers guarding the facility for KBR did not know of the threat and did not wear protective masks or equipment.
Max Costa, the chairman of New York University’s Department of Environmental Medicine, has called hexavalent chromium one of the most potent carcinogens known to man. It was the compound in the California case that inspired the film “Erin Brockovich.”
KBR has denied any wrongdoing. The company has argued that soldiers were exposed for only days or months — not long enough, according to studies it cites, to cause complications. It also cites air quality studies that showed the soldiers were not exposed to high enough levels of hexavalent chromium to be harmed.
However, Costa and others have challenged those air quality studies, saying they were conducted incorrectly.
Soldiers are suing KBR and several subcontractors, alleging that the company knew but didn’t tell the Army about the toxin.
Gentry may not have been the first victim of the exposure. First Sgt. David Moore of Dubois suffered nosebleeds, rashes and difficulty breathing, and he died of lung disease in February 2008. Though Moore was a smoker, his death was ruled service-related.
Gentry retired in 2008 after 22 years of National Guard service, including two trips to Iraq — one of which came after his exposure to sodium dichromate.
“I understand and accept there’s danger with my line of service, in my line of service,” Gentry said in the December 2008 deposition. “What’s very difficult for me to accept is if I’m working for KBR and they have knowledge of hazardous chemicals on the ground that can cause cancer and (they don’t) share that knowledge, then that is putting my men atrisk that is unnecessary.
Former KBR employee Edward Blacke — who worked for the company as its health, safety and environmental coordinator in Iraq — described in a written report to the Senate Democratic Policy Committee what he said were criminally negligent actions that led to illnesses such as Gentry’s.
A trained emergency medical technician, Blacke said soldiers and contractors alike were showing similar symptoms when he arrived at the Qarmat Ali facility. They were coughing up blood, dealing with severe eye, nose and throat irritation and struggling to breathe.
Along with an Iraqi interpreter, Blacke checked the slashed-open bags and discovered that they contained sodium dichromate, which contains hexavalent chromium.
“He (the interpreter) was reluctant to say more, and when pressed, he said he knew it was poisonous and that he was aware of many workers from the plant who were made ill by it,” Blacke told the committee.
After digging in, Blacke said he was “totally taken aback” to find that KBR knew as early as May 2003 of the toxin’s presence, but it ignored both a United Nations report and an internal report and failed to notify its workers there and the soldiers who were guarding the plant.
He said KBR held a meeting at Qarmat Ali to discuss the toxin with workers. At the meeting, company health officials claimed sodium dichromate is a mild irritant at worst, he said.
After pointing out what he believed were incorrect claims, Blacke said he was told to be quiet by one of his supervisors.
When he failed to quit pressing the matter, Blacke said he was sent home. Blacke suffered health problems himself, but his civil claim was resolved in arbitration because his contract specifically prevented him from suing the company.
KBR and Halliburton have argued that the air at the plant was tested and showed low levels of the toxin. Blacke said the tests were performed when the air was still, rather than during one of the frequent dust storms.
U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., has followed developments related to the soldiers’ exposure to hexavalent chromium. He has introduced legislation that would help ensure the soldiers receive medical treatment.
That bill would create a registry modeled after one created for those who were exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. It would ensure that veterans who experience complications that could be related to exposure to harmful chemicals receive the benefit of the doubt by leaving it up to the Department of Veterans Affairs to prove that their illness is not related to the exposure.
“I promised Lt. Col. Gentry that I would fight for his men here in Congress. I promised I would use my position to get them the care they deserve and to make sure we protect our soldiers from preventable risks like this in the future,” he said. (Link to original article)
Indianapolis – An Indiana national Guard soldier was laid to rest Tuesday. He died of cancer after being exposed to a toxic chemical in Iraq. His death raises new questions about a hidden enemy that over 100 Hoosier soldiers faced in a war zone.
It was a final salute Tuesday to Lt. Colonel Jim Gentry, who lost his battle with cancer the day before Thanksgiving.
“I lost my best friend, so it is a tough, tough loss,” said Paul Grube, soldier.
Gentry was eulogized as a friend, husband and father. But most of the people at his funeral were fellow soldiers, including some who served under Gentry during his two tours of duty in Iraq. During one mission, they protected an Iraqi plant with a substance on the ground identified as sodium dichromate. Experts say the chemical can cause nose bleeds and even cancer.
After returning from Iraq, friends say Gentry was diagnosed with lung, bone and brain cancer. He attacked the disease like a military operation.
“His mission was never surrender to the disease. To the very end, Jim never surrendered,” said Lt.Col. Dan Colglazier, Indiana National Guard.
“In our conversations, he believes that the chemical not only affected him but his soldiers,” said Grube.
Some of the soldiers who served with Gentry sued KBR, the American contractor overseeing the plant. KBR has denied deliberately exposing the soldiers to the chemical.
“Jim and his men just did what their nation asked them to do. They went to a site and did their job without any knowledge of any type of contamination. And I pray to God that if the allegations are such and found to be true – that there would be accountability,” said Major General Martin Umbarger, Indiana National Guard.
Those who knew Gentry say he would not complain and instead dedicated his remaining days to his final battle.
Lt. Colonel Gentry is one of 48 Indiana National Guard soldiers suing KBR for knowingly exposing them to sodium dichromate. The trial is scheduled for September 2010 in Evansville.
Attorneys say Gentry was the second Indiana soldier who died from exposure. KBR denies any wrongdoing. (Link to Original)
Lieutenant Colonel James Gentry, Indiana National Guard
(See Funeral Notice update below)
Sadly, I have learned Lt. Col James “Jim” Gentry has lost his battle with cancer and has died in Indiana at the young age of 52. Gentry was diagnosed with cancer in 2006. A cancer he felt was caused by his exposure to the deadly carcinogen known as sodium dichromate at the Qarmat Ali water plant in Southern Iraq in 2003.
A retired Indiana National Guard lieutenant colonel, Gentry was the commander of the 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry, which, at about 600 soldiers strong, was in Iraq from February 2003 to February 2004.
This Indian National Guard unit was responsible for protecting US civilians working for KBR at the Qarmat Ali water plant in Southern Iraq. Returning this water plant to full operation was essential to restoring Iraqi oil production and KBR had the contract to do that.
Unfortunately, upon retreat, Saddam loyalists sabotaged the plant by cutting open bags of sodium dichromate, a yellow-orange powered rust inhibitor, and spread it everywhere. Not being informed by KBR management what this powder was, soldiers and civilians alike took few precautions to protect themselves. People started experiencing symptoms of chronic nose bleeds, headaches, skins lesions. Even after countless complaints KBR did not test the substance and inform anyone as to the hazards. Click HERE for five short (18 min total) deposition testimony videos of KBR management putting their spin on why soldiers and civilians weren’t informed of the inherent health risks of this “yellow-orange” powder.
Gentry, even after being retired and diagnosed with cancer, led his soldiers with strength and dignity. He became an outspoken advocate demanding investigations and VA coverage for illnesses believed to have been caused by the toxic exposure.
Jo Frederiksen is a construction manager who worked with Gentry during his second tour in Iraq. She said,
“He was the consummate leader and professional who always put others first before himself.”
“Jim’s courage and selflessness continued even after he was diagnosed with a devastating disease and given a terminal prognosis.”
Because of Lt. Col. Gentry hundreds if not thousands of US National Guard soldiers from the states of Indiana, Oregon, West Virginia, British troops and US and Iraqi civilians are now aware of their potential exposure. Congressional Hearings have been held, Department of Defense Inspector General Investigations have been initiated. Lawsuits have been filed. Click HERE for everything I have on the sodium dichromate exposures at Qarmat Ali.
Senator Bayh (D-IN) said,
“I promised Lt. Col. Gentry I would use my position to get them the care they deserve and to make sure we protect our soldiers from preventable risks like this in the future.”
Frederiksen said,
“Jim came forward to speak out on behalf of the troops he commanded. … I hope that his country and its people will give Lt. Col. Gentry and his troops the honor and respect they deserve for their sacrifices, while serving our country with valor.”
My most sincere condolences to Lt. Col. Gentry’s family and friends, both in the private sector and military.
As for KBR, I would think in this case, they could be charged with treason. They knowingly exposed out soldiers to a chemical that is killing them.
Updated Nov 30, 2009 - The original article in the Times Mail stated that Lt. Col Gentry was not a part of the suit against KBR. He in fact did join the other litigants earlier this year after he saw more of the documentation and testimony about what KBR’s managers knew and when they knew it.
Ms Sparky
UPDATED Nov 30, 2009 Funeral Notice:
Lt. Col. James Gentry
52; Iraq War veteran
Funeral service for Lt. Col. James Gentry, 52, of Williams, will be at noon Tuesday, Dec. 1, at the Kraft Spring St. Chapel with burial with Full Military Honors in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery in Starlight.
He was retried from the Indiana Army National Guard after serving as commander of the 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry and two tours of duty in Iraq. He was a former resident of Indianapolis and was a native of Mitchell.
Survivors include his wife LouAnn Grube Gentry; children Sarah Clark (Will), of New Albany, Jason Newman, of Indianapolis, Emily Gentry, Bloomington, Jennafer Newman, of Santa Anna, Calif., Ellen Gentry, of Georgetown; parents George and Brenda Sue Gentry, of Mitchell; brother Sanford Gentry (Valerie) of Williams; and sister Carolyn Hodges (Franks), of Mitchell.
He was preceded in death by his brother Randy Gentry.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30, at Kraft Funeral Service, New Albany.
Expressions of Sympathy can be made to Uplands Hospice, 1500 West Main St. P.O. Box No. 9, Mitchell, Ind., 47496.
The poisoning of our US troops and civilians at Qarmat Ali is a clear example of KBR’s total disregard for the safety of their employees and their client.- Ms Sparky
(WHAS11)–Russ Kimberling has nearly 2,000 images from Iraq on his computer. They chronicle his duties there as a captain in the Indiana National Guard.
Kimberling now pours over the pictures wondering why he and other soldiers weren’t warned about a yellowish substance in thesand at Qarmat Ali, a water injection plant near Basrah.
Kimberling recently told me, “If it came up they would say don’t worry about it. It’s a mild irritant. It’s not a big deal. You may get a bloody nose. It’s not a problem.”
He says he got that “don’t worry” message from workers with KBR, an American contractor headquartered in Houston, Texas and at the time owned by Halliburton.
KBR was restoring Iraqi oil fields. The guard members were protecting the private contractors.
Clinton Hammack is a retired National Guard soldier from Tell city who says he wasn’t too concerned about what he calls “dirty sand.” He says “You know I didn’t worry about it. I did what I was there to do – take care of the contractor.”
The yellow substance in the sand was later confirmed to be sodium dichromate. The Environmental Protection Agency calls it a human carcinogen.
It was used as an anti-corrosive at the Qarmat Ali plant before the Americans arrived. It may have been spread by Iraqis to sabotage the site at the beginning of the American invasion.
Currently 51 Southern Indiana National Guard members have filed a federal lawsuit against KBR claiming the company knew about the chemical and endangered the soldiers’ health.
Kimberling says one day in Iraq he realized the yellow substance might be more than a mild irritant.
He says, “I remember that day when we jumped out, jumped out of the vehicle. I’m kicking the ground around. I’m kicking the ground and everyone’s in chemical gear all protected but not me or any of the soldiers.”
He says the people in the protective gear were managers from KBR. He remembers thinking at the time, “They know something we don’t and it can’t be good.
Mike Doyle the attorney for the National Guard Members who have filed suit says, “That’s what’s kind of frustrating about it. You have these fellows they have every reason to expect if KBR knew — and they did — there was this poison they’ll tell them about it.” (Link to original article)
It is important to remember that to date the plaintiffs still show no signs of illness consistent with the long-term sodium dichromate exposure they allege. Medical reports by both the U.S. and British Military support this finding as well as findings from the plaintiff’s own doctors.
KBR engineers learned around June 1, 2003, that sodium dichromate was previously used at Qarmat Ali by the Iraqi state-owned Southern Oil Company. The Southern Oil Company had used sodium dichromate as an anti-corrosive agent in the chemical injection process, but it was no longer being used and the water plant was not operational. The June 21, 2003 memo attached to your email reflects KBR’s first awareness that the sodium dichromate used in the past may have contaminated some of the soil surrounding the plant.
As KBR’s efforts at the Qarmat Ali facility continued, it notified USACE about the potential contamination of the soil by sodium dichromate in late July 2003. KBR subsequently worked with the military to conduct air and soil testing to confirm the presence and extent of the contamination. Once contamination was confirmed, KBR received authorization from the military to commence remediation efforts, which it immediately began.
In addition, KBR initiated a medical surveillance program for its workers. The U.S. military and the British military initiated a similar medical surveillance program for military personnel who had been at the plant. The results were negative for signs and symptoms of exposure to sodium dichromate or hexavalent chromium. Regardless, out of abundance of caution, the U.S. Army and KBR decided to discontinue all work at the plant pending additional air and soil testing. The plant subsequent was closed and remained closed until mid-October 2003.
Statements from Attorney for Indiana National Guard members
Mike Doyle, Attorney for Indiana National Guard members in Federal Lawsuit:
“Having spent time recently with Jim Gentry and knowing what the VA has recently confirmed for the US Senate about the health affects of soldiers exposed to hexavalent chromium at KBR’s Qarmat Ali project, KBR’s claim of no ill health effects is contrary to the known facts. KBR has been continually changing its story about what it knew and did about the dangerous chemicals present, and these most recent admissions only came when the previously concealed Kimbro memo was revealed during his testimony this month. There is still no explanation, nor can there ever be, for KBR’s concealing of what it knew for months from Jim Gentry and our soldiers serving in Iraq.” (Link to original article)
The poisoning of our US troops and civilians at Qarmat Ali is a clear example of KBR’s total disregard for the safety of their employees and their client.- Ms Sparky
(WHAS11)–Tell City, Indiana is the small Perry County seat. It’s where a giant We Support the Troops banner hangs on the county courthouse and many a man here has served in the military.
It’s where I visited recently with Clinton Hammack who told me, ” I enjoyed being in the military or I wouldn’t have stayed and retired.”
Hammack reenlisted while he was in Iraq and while there he had a huge portrait of him and his wife painted from a photo he carried to war with him.
Lucas Whistle leaves just down the road from Hammack and agrees that military service was good for him. He told me, “The military gave me a lot of opportunities that I would never get in just a regular life.”
Whistle has permanent reminders of his military days. Tattooed on his chest are the initials U.S. and the sword of the infantry. His son, three month old Tikelan is named for Lucas’s best army buddy.
Russ Kimberling, a newly remarried father of two was their captain in the 1-152 infantry battlion. They were sent to Iraq in 2003 and assigned to Task Force RIO — Restore Iraqi Oil.
According to Hammack the National Guard Soldiers were basically like bodyguards for the American contractors paid to get the oil flowing again. Hammack puts it like this, “Make sure I’m looking out over the horizon and they ain’t nobody on the roof start to shoot.”
The contractor, KBR, then owned by Halliburton is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Everyday the soldiers rode out in non-descript white pickups and SUVs with the KBR contractors.
They traveled to the oil sites that were likely sabotaged by Iraqi forces just before the American invasion. One of the work sites was a water injection facility in Qarmat Ali near the southern Iraqi town of Basrah. The water from the injection plant was used to force oil out of the ground.
Now, Hammack, Whistle and Kimberling along with 48 other National Guard troops from Southern Indiana have filed a federal lawsuit again KBR.
They believe it wasn’t what was on the horizon that put them in the most danger it was what was on the ground at Qarmat Ali.
“Orange, I would say and it was all over the ground…saturated the ground, ” Kimberling says. “There were ripped opened bags strewn all over the site …away from the building.
The soldiers would work in it all day, eat in it, the wind could be blowing on the food then they take it back to the sleeping quarters because it was all over their uniforms, boots so they really never got away from it.
Hammack says . ” It was kind of an orange, yellow color.” And you can see it in a military document sent to the National Guard members in August of last year.
Now, six years later the soldiers know its name. Sodium dichromate. It’s toxic component is chromium hexivalent the same chemical at the center of the movie, Erin Brockovich.
The lawsuit claims KBR knew about the toxic chemical at Qarmet Ali and failed to warn the soldiers. Mike Doyle the attorney for the Indiana guardsmen who have filed suit says the soldiers were getting nose bleeds, rashes and having difficulty breathing.
Kimberling says, “I didn’t have any issues until I hit that site. When I hit the site I started having sinus problems, headaches, bloody noses and then I got a perforation in the left nostril of my nose.
When the ENT, he was looking in my nostril hit the light and you could see it inside my nose.”
Lucas Whistle also has mysterious rashes on his nose and congestion.
He told me, ” I get nose bleeds and usually when I get them ..they’re pretty bad..bad enough to where the towels and clothes I’m wearing we have to throw them away. When I lay in there at bed at night and I get to coughing and I can’t breath.”
Clinton Hammack says, ” I do worry about it and I worry about what’s going to happen later on.”
But they believe they know what might be in store. Dave Moore was from Dubois County and the 42 year old father of a little girl. He died in 2008 from an inflammatory lung disease.
According to his attorney Mike Doyle, Lt. Colonel Jim Gentry was a robust commander when he was in Iraq in 2003. Now at 52 years old he’s dying from lung cancer.
Last year while taping a deposition for the federal lawsuit, Gentry said, “We should have been told.” Jim Gentry is currently undergoing radiation treatments in an Indianapolis hospital.
The National Guard soldiers who have filed suit against KBR say they have recently obtained a document that proves the company knew about the toxic chemical before the soldiers were told.
As for KBR, the corporation strongly denied the claims made by the National Guard members. In part two of this report, see what KBR says about the orange substance at Qarmat Ali. (Link to original article)
I would love to get a better photo of this KBR ad on the DC Metro…. OK all my DC readers…hint hint!
Before I start slamming KBR in typical “Ms Sparky” style, I just want to clarify I know there are a lot of qualified hard working good people working for KBR in Iraq and Afghanistan TRYING to support our troops the best they can. The problem is they are being led by unqualified, short sighted idiots. With that in mind let the slamming begin.
I find it interesting that KBR is advertising in Washington DC. Are they finding the customer is a little miffed with them?? Are KBR and the DoD on the outs…..one can only hope!
Here’s what I can read on this sign…..that’s why I need a better photo.
Wherever your mission takes you….
Step 2,??? Fresh Linens
Step 2,082 (?) Clean Clothes
Step 2,??? Hot Meal
Step ?,??? Clean Water
(Then there are two I can’t read at all)
We are with you every step of the way.
KBR
Let’s start with clean water. Are you talking about the water contaminated with micro-organisms or the water contaminated by chemicals like Camp Kalsu.
Are you talking about the poorly constructed and maintain housing and AB units?
Are you talking about the electrified showers? Or the water heaters that blow up?
Are you talking about the burn pit exposures? Or the chemical exposures like Qarmat Ali?
Are you talking about the over charging? Are you talking about the serious abusing of your own employees?
There just might be some soldiers out there who are thinking it’s not such a good idea to have KBR with them “every step of the way”.
KBR….the end does not justify the means. You can’t just do what you want and then chalk it up to “it’s a war zone”! Our soldiers deserve better than that!
I hope you are not charging the US taxpayers for this ad campaign!!
In typical Bill Bodie style…..he issued ANOTHER whiny editorial to a newspaper in the jurisdiction and might I add jury pool of the West Virginia National Guard. The same National Guardsman who have filed suit against KBR for knowingly exposing them to sodium dichromate at Qarmat Ali in Iraq in 2003. Bodie pulled this same shit in Pittsburgh when he sent an editorial about how KBR was not responsible for the electrocution death of SSG Ryan Maseth. (click HERE) He has to send editorials because the main stream media doesn’t take KBR statement seriously. Bodie wasn’t even working for KBR when this happened. He didn’t start working for KBR until March of 2005. So anything he has to say is hearsay at best. Just another pathetic attempt by Bodie to cover up KBR shit in the KBR litter box. He is turning in to quite the KBR “bobble head” doll. Maybe KBR could market Bill Bodie and Heather Browne as a set!! I guess I am going to have to add a new post category called “Bodie’s Bull Shit” or “More Mindless Drivel” I haven’t decided.
William C. Bodie: KBR handled Iraq site (Qarmat Ali) safely
October 16, 2009
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As the old saying goes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. Recent media coverage on lawsuits filed against KBR alleging military personnel were sickened because of long-term exposure to sodium dichromate at Qarmat Ali, an Iraqi water treatment plant, has been so erroneous that it is time to set the record straight.
It is important to understand that the chemical in question — sodium dichromate, which is used as an anti-corrosive agent in industrial enterprises, was left behind at the Qarmat Ali plant by Iraqi staff upon vacating the site in the wake of Saddam Hussein’s overthrow in 2003. No remedial action was taken to clean up the site prior to KBR’s arrival in support of U.S. forces. KBR was not hired to do an environmental assessment of the facility and was told the site was free of environment hazards prior to starting work.
One erroneous assertion is that KBR discovered the presence of sodium dichromate at Qarmat Ali and took no precautionary action. In fact, immediately after we became aware of potential contamination from sodium dichromate in the plant, KBR began working with the military to conduct air and soil testing at the site and posted signs in English and Arabic to advise of the presence of the chemical. In October 2003, The U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine issued a report noting that KBR effectively minimized exposure at the site.
Moreover, the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine conducted extensive testing on military personnel who were stationed at the site to determine any exposure levels. The testing showed that no troops were harmed and that they were unlikely to develop future injury from any limited exposure they received while in Iraq.
The results were further reviewed and confirmed by the Defense Health Board of the Department of Defense. The British military reached similar conclusions regarding their own troops. KBR’s testing also found no measurable exposure and no indication of injury. The troops were on the site an average of 18 days, and the scientific literature indicates that this amount of exposure is insufficient to cause long-term health effects. There is no evidence linking any injury to chemical exposure at the water treatment facility.
KBR remains committed to a fact-based dialogue on this issue. We will also continue our historic practice of working fully and cooperatively with the government on this matter.
Since 2003, KBR has supported the U.S. military in Iraq, providing life-support services such as meals and laundry and mail service to our troops. KBR remains proud of the work it performs and we intend to continue our vigorous defense on this issue, on behalf of the more than 50,000 dedicated employees who work tirelessly for KBR in Iraq and Afghanistan at great sacrifice to themselves and their families.
Bodie is president of KBR’s North American Government and Defense Unit.(Link to original article)
No Contractor Left Behind is a series by DC Bureau.org chronicling how a toxic time bomb followed three Army National Guard units home from Iraq. It reveals how a notorious military contractor (KBR) exposed American soldiers to a cancer-causing carcinogen on the battlefield and how the Pentagon tried to downplay the consequences. And it describes how Congress has relegated its investigation to a toothless forum that lacks the political clout and oversight powers to ensure effective accountability.
Click HERE to read No Contractor Left Behind Part I: KBR, the Pentagon and the Soldiers Who Paid – October 5, 2009
The first of a multi-part account of how KBR management knowingly exposed not only their own employees but hundreds of US Army National Guard troops, British Soldiers and local Iraqi citizens to to the toxic carcinogen known as sodium dichromate at Qarmat Ali in southern Iraq.
Click HERE to readNo Contractor Left Behind Part II: KBR’s Negligence - October 7, 2009
In 2003, as part of project RIO, U.S. soldiers would accompany contractors into Iraq from Kuwait as they assessed southern oil sites, including Qarmat Ali. Their orders forbade them from leaving KBR personnel alone at any time. Even when they were working, soldiers had to remain an arm’s length away—which not only exposed them to whatever chemical elements the contractors uncovered during their work, it allowed KBR managers ample time to notify them of any potential health risks.
Click HERE to read No Contractor Left Behind Part III: “Just Suck It Up and Move On” – October 9, 2009
Military Exposure Guidelines permissible exposure limit for chromium: 5,700 parts per million.
Chromium soil concentrations found by KBR samples at Qarmat Ali on August 7, 2003: 16,459 parts per million.
Like KBR, the military failed to look after its own at Qarmat Ali.
“Unfortunately,” Sgt. Russell Powell said in Congressional testimony, “many of the soldiers who served at Qarmat Ali are paying the consequences for the Army’s failure to warn and protect the troops.”
At the treatment plant, as soldiers expressed concerns about sodium dichromate, the military brass remained taciturn and downplayed the danger posed by the chemical. Once the toxic conditions at Qarmat Ali were revealed, the Army relied on a questionable and surreptitiously administered medical test to fend off claims of a hazard, and used the results to deny health care for exposed veterans.
Click HERE to read No Contractor Left Behind Part IV: Congress’s Powerless Probe – October 13, 2009
“When you have contractors that have demonstrated that they have fleeced the government agency or the taxpayer, I don’t think there should be a slap on the wrist or a pat on the back. They should be debarred. …This is the most significant waste and fraud in the history of our country. It’s not even close.” Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Thank God for Senator Dorgan and the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. If they had not investigated this and brought it to the attention of the DoD and media, how many soldiers would be dying and not know why?
No Contractor Left Behind is a series by DC Bureau.org chronicling how a toxic time bomb followed three Army National Guard units home from Iraq. It reveals how a notorious military contractor (KBR) exposed American soldiers to a cancer-causing carcinogen on the battlefield and how the Pentagon tried to downplay the consequences. And it describes how Congress has relegated its investigation to a toothless forum that lacks the political clout and oversight powers to ensure effective accountability.
Click HERE to read No Contractor Left Behind Part I: KBR, the Pentagon and the Soldiers Who Paid – October 5, 2009
The first of a multi-part account of how KBR management knowingly exposed not only their own employees but hundreds of US Army National Guard troops, British Soldiers and local Iraqi citizens to to the toxic carcinogen known as sodium dichromate at Qarmat Ali in southern Iraq.
Click HERE to readNo Contractor Left Behind Part II: KBR’s Negligence - October 7, 2009
In 2003, as part of project RIO, U.S. soldiers would accompany contractors into Iraq from Kuwait as they assessed southern oil sites, including Qarmat Ali. Their orders forbade them from leaving KBR personnel alone at any time. Even when they were working, soldiers had to remain an arm’s length away—which not only exposed them to whatever chemical elements the contractors uncovered during their work, it allowed KBR managers ample time to notify them of any potential health risks.
Click HERE to read No Contractor Left Behind Part III: “Just Suck It Up and Move On” – October 9, 2009
Military Exposure Guidelines permissible exposure limit for chromium: 5,700 parts per million.
Chromium soil concentrations found by KBR samples at Qarmat Ali on August 7, 2003: 16,459 parts per million.
Like KBR, the military failed to look after its own at Qarmat Ali.
“Unfortunately,” Sgt. Russell Powell said in Congressional testimony, “many of the soldiers who served at Qarmat Ali are paying the consequences for the Army’s failure to warn and protect the troops.”
At the treatment plant, as soldiers expressed concerns about sodium dichromate, the military brass remained taciturn and downplayed the danger posed by the chemical. Once the toxic conditions at Qarmat Ali were revealed, the Army relied on a questionable and surreptitiously administered medical test to fend off claims of a hazard, and used the results to deny health care for exposed veterans.
In Feb 2003, KBR was awarded a $7 billion no-bid contract in Iraq called Restore Iraqi Oil (RIO). In short…the contract was for putting out oil well fires and getting the oil fields back to production. Because water was used to pressurize the wells, part of the contract included restoring water to the oil fields. Water that was normally pumped through the Qarmat Ali water plant near Basra in Southern Iraq. This plant had been chemically sabotaged by Saddam loyalists and was in need of repairs before water could flow. It was at this water plant that 100’s of US National Guard soldiers, British soldiers, US civilians and Iraqi civilians were exposed to toxic levels of sodium dichromate. Sodium dichromate is a well known carcinogen and it’s dangers were brought to the public’s attention in the movie Erin Brockovich.
Many US Army National Guard soldiers have already died and others suffer from a myriad of conditions from what is believed to be exposure to toxic levels of sodium dichromate. US Soldiers testified before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee in August that the orange dust was everywhere. They ate it in their food, drank it in their water and slept in it. In some places it was reported to be “feet” thick. The remaining unopened bags (which were labeled in Arabic) were used as sandbags for bunkers and protection.
When KBR’s own Safety Coordinator Ed Blacke, who also testified at a Senate DPC hearing in June 2008, requested information on the red/orange substance, he was told by his own HSE Manager “it is a non-issue”. Even though soldiers and civilians were experiencing symptoms consistent with sodium dichromate exposure. Soon after he was terminated for pressing the issue.
In the last year there have been numerous law suits filed against KBR by US Army National Guard soldiers from several states for knowingly exposing them to sodium dichromate. KBR employees can not sue KBR for not providing them when a safe work environment. They are held to secret binding arbitration. Below are clips from sworn depositions of five key witnesses in the chemical exposures. Please pay close attention the testimony of the KBR Operations and Safety Managers. Unbelievable arrogance and what I believe to be negligence.
Below is a portion of the sworn deposition of Johnny Morney KBR Health Safety & Environmental Manager at Qarmat Ali in 2003. (3:01) Click HERE to watch it on YouTube. This is just unbelievable ignorance!
Below is a portion of the sworn deposition of Doug Fletcher KBR General Program (Operations) Manager in Iraq (2:26) Click HERE to watch it on YouTube. Mr. Fletcher is just not sure if he had a “meeting” about the hazards of sodium dichromate with his employees or not.
Below is a portion of the sworn deposition of Charles “Chuck” Adams KBR Health Safety & Environmental (HSE) Manager for Iraq in 2003 (4:11) Click HERE to watch it on YouTube. How many HSE managers would be allowed to get away with this in the States?
Below is a portion of the sworn deposition of Dr. Sudhir Desai KBR Industrial Hygienist (3:52) Click HERE to watch it on YouTube
Below is a portion of the sworn deposition of Dr. Robert Conte, KBR Medical Director (4:34) Click HERE to watch it on YouTube
I can’t even think of anything else to say except “what the hell!” And we wonder why KBR is having problems on LOGCAP. Why they are electrocuting people. Making contaminated water. Exposing people to dangerous toxins. Either they are just plain stupid or just don’t care or both! Regardless, murder charges need to be filed for those who have died and assault or attempted murder for those who are still suffering from this negligence. AT THE VERY LEAST…TREASON!
Am I being to hard on these losers? And don’t even try to use the “it’s a war zone” excuse. That’s BS!
Just before I hit the “publish” button this came out from the Associate Press. click HERE
No Contractor Left Behind is a series by DC Bureau.org chronicling how a toxic time bomb followed three Army National Guard units home from Iraq. It reveals how a notorious military contractor (KBR) exposed American soldiers to a cancer-causing carcinogen on the battlefield and how the Pentagon tried to downplay the consequences. And it describes how Congress has relegated its investigation to a toothless forum that lacks the political clout and oversight powers to ensure effective accountability.
Click HERE to read No Contractor Left Behind Part I: KBR, the Pentagon and the Soldiers Who Paid – October 5, 2009
The first of a multi-part account of how KBR management knowingly exposed not only their own employees but hundreds of US Army National Guard troops, British Soldiers and local Iraqi citizens to to the toxic carcinogen known as sodium dichromate at Qarmat Ali in southern Iraq.
Click HERE to readNo Contractor Left Behind Part II: KBR’s Negligence - October 7, 2009 In this report on Qarmat Ali you will watch video taped deposition testimony from KBR management. Watch how the KBR Safety Manager blames the KBR employees for not reporting the existence of a chemical that they had no idea was even on site. This is a classic example of KBR management at it’s finest. If I didn’t know better I would swear he was my safety manager in Iraq!
Needed movement has been made in the push to examine the U.S. Army’s response to exposure of troops in Iraq to deadly chemicals.
Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind, reports the Department of Defense inspector general has announced that an investigation has been initiated. The investigation is critical and every responsible Hoosier should demand nothing less than thoroughness and resolve as the probe takes place. Nothing less than that is owed to the hundreds of U.S. soldiers, including 142 members of the Indiana National Guard, exposed to the deadly chemical sodium dichromate.
A complete investigation is necessary for a number of reasons — reasons that have immediate impact, as well as far-reaching ramifications.
At the forefront is the health — and associated care — of those soldiers who were exposed and have experienced illness, or will become sick, because of it. It’s important to have a plan in place to assure that soldiers who might not experience related health difficulties until years down the road still get the care they need — and the respect they’ve earned — without having to fight for either.
The situation involving the sodium dichromate exposure is very relevant to the people of Lawrence County. Retired Indiana National Guard Lt. Col. James Gentry, 52, formerly of Mitchell and now of Williams, is fighting cancer. He led the National Guard unit in Iraq and told the Times-Mail in December he’s convinced his wartime experience involving exposure to the chemical caused his illness.
Bayh is adamant, as everybody should be, that the right steps be taken to deal with the huge misfortune that took place. To describe what happened, in 2003, Hoosier troops were guarding the Qarmat Ali Water Treatment Plant in Iraq as it was being rebuilt by the Houston-based construction firm KBR. Despite on-site assurances that the dust spread throughout the facility was a “mild irritant,” it was later revealed to be sodium dichromate, which contains hexavalent chromium, one of the world’s most carcinogenic substances.
Capitol Hill hearings on the issue have subsequently revealed a number of failures by contractor KBR to warn troops of the exposure and to properly clean up the contamination. Hearings also exposed multiple failures by the Army either to hold KBR accountable or to inform and test soldiers once the Army did learn of the contamination.
Bayh is absolutely right in his assertion that it is “essential that the Defense Department take a hard look at this incident to learn the lessons of Qarmat Ali and make sure that service members are never again needlessly exposed to hazardous chemicals while deployed.”
It’s critical that the Department of Veterans Affairs properly treat veterans for a “service-connected” sickness that could take years after the initial exposure to develop.
Bayh also is pushing for a registry for U.S. military personnel exposed to hazardous chemicals while serving in the line of duty.
“If you serve in combat conditions, you are entitled to the best care possible,” Bayh said. “We must diligently track which soldiers may have been placed at risk and ensure they have access to the best care our country has to offer.”
Feds look for soldiers likely exposed to toxic chemical in Iraq
By Andrew Clevenger-Staff writer
October 3, 2009
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than 1,100 soldiers, including members of the West Virginia National Guard were likely exposed to a highly toxic chemical in southern Iraq in 2003, according to information provided to U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd by the U.S. Defense Department.
Hundreds of those soldiers still may not know they were exposed to the chemical, according to the U.S. Army.
Last month, then-Secretary of the Army Pete Geren wrote to Byrd after the West Virginia Democrat expressed concern about soldiers who may have been exposed to sodium dichromate at the Qarmat Ali water plant outside Basra.
During Project RIO, members of the West Virginia National Guard’s 1092nd Engineering Battalion, as well as guard units from Indiana and Oregon, helped guard the plant while employees from KBR, Inc., repaired the facility, which provided water pumped to the oil fields to create the pressure needed to extract oil from the ground.
Sodium chromate, a known carcinogen, was used to keep the pipes from rusting.
Of the 1,164 soldiers likely exposed, the Department of Defense has confirmed contact with 863, Geren reported. Almost 260 have enrolled in a registry that helps track soldiers with possible exposure, and 154 have undergone medical exams.
“During the last few months we have continued our efforts to identify and contact soldiers who may have been at the site, and have worked with several agencies of the federal government to identify potential health issues and provide the service connection needed to ensure eligibility for care,” Geren wrote.
Geren’s information does not break down the total number of soldiers by state.
On Aug. 3, at a Democratic Policy Committee hearing on the possible exposure at Qarmat Ali, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., put the number of West Virginia guardsmen who had possible exposure at 150.
Earlier this week, the Department of Defense’s Inspector General announced that it would investigate the military’s response to possible exposure and lasting health implications from Qarmat Ali, a move applauded by both Byrd and Rockefeller.
At the August hearing, Russell Powell, a onetime member of the 82nd Airborne Division who served as the West Virginia National Guard unit’s medic in 2003, described how he and other soldiers began having nosebleeds, nausea, difficulty breathing and burning throats and lungs after deploying to the Qarmat Ali facility.
“I questioned one of the KBR workers about the powder and the related medical problems. He told me that his supervisors at KBR told him not to worry about the powder or health problems because we must be allergic to dust,” said Powell, who lives in Moundsville. “I laughed at the explanation, it seemed pretty bogus. After 15 years of working as a medic, I knew there was no way that all of us could be allergic to dust at the same time.”
Powell said he had no idea about the possible cause of his lingering health problems until he got a letter from the West Virginia National Guard earlier this year.
“During the time I was serving in Iraq, I was never informed that our West Virginia platoon, or unit, had been exposed to sodium dichromate while serving at Qarmat Ali. The Army never told us before the mission that there might be a risk of chemical exposure. As a medic, had I known the true nature of the risk, I would have made sure that everyone had personal protection equipment,” he said.
“After leaving Iraq in April 2004, I went to the VA [Veterans Administration] Clinic in Clarksburg, West Virginia, to talk to doctors about my skin rashes, lesions, stomach problems, and nosebleeds. The doctors were unable to determine what caused my problems. Five years passed before I received a letter from the WV National Guard saying that we were exposed [to] sodium dichromate while serving at Qarmat Ali.”
In June, Powell and six other members of the West Virginia National Guard unit filed a lawsuit in the state’s Northern District, alleging that KBR, a former Haliburton subsidiary that was awarded billions of dollars’ worth of no-bid contracts to rebuild Iraq, negligently exposed them to the chemical.
KBR has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Qarmat Ali.
The Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, of which Rockefeller is a member, has scheduled a hearing on chemical exposure for Oct. 8. (click HERE for the original article)
In typical Bill Bodie style…..he issued ANOTHER whiny editorial to a newspaper in the jurisdiction and might I add jury pool of the West Virginia National Guard. The same National Guardsman who have filed suit against KBR for knowingly exposing them to sodium dichromate at Qarmat Ali in Iraq in 2003. Bodie pulled this same shit in Pittsburgh when he sent an editorial about how KBR was not responsible for the electrocution death of SSG Ryan Maseth. (click 