Iraq contractor fights suit over toxic exposure

Source: Boston.com

When the American team arrived in Iraq in the summer of 2003 to repair the Qarmat Ali water injection plant, supervisors told them the orange, sand-like substance strewn around the looted facility was just a "mild irritant," workers recall.

The workers got it on their hands and clothing every day while racing for 2 1/2 months to meet a deadline to get the plant, a crucial part of Iraq's oil infrastructure, up and running.

But the chemical turned out to be sodium dichromate, a substance so dangerous that even limited exposure greatly increases the risk of cancer. Soon, many of the 22 Americans and 100-plus Iraqis began to complain of nosebleeds, ulcers, and shortness of breath. Within weeks, nearly 60 percent exhibited symptoms of exposure, according to the minutes of a meeting of project managers from KBR, the Houston-based construction company in charge of the repairs.

Now, nine Americans are accusing KBR, then a subsidiary of the oil conglomerate Halliburton, of knowingly exposing them to the deadly substance and failing to provide them with the protective equipment needed to keep them safe.

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/25/iraq_contractor_fights_suit_over_toxic_exposure/

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:grr:

Just ask the women Cheneyed by those KBR employes

Hopefully they'll be able to go back and claim against Halliburton in the first of many, many multi-million dollar suits. I, personally, would feel greatly relieved when Halliburton was no more, their officers (especially ex-employees) imprisoned and their name reviled (more so than now).