Suit claims Halliburton, KBR sickened base

Class-action suit over Balad burn pits
Man says he suffered lesions, abdominal pain


Suit claims Halliburton, KBR sickened base
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Dec 3, 2008 22:20:45 EST

A Georgia man has filed a class-action lawsuit against KBR and Halliburton, saying the contractors exposed everyone at Joint Base Balad in Iraq to unsafe water, food and hazardous fumes from the burn pit there.

Joshua Eller, who worked as a civilian computer-aided drafting technician with the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, said military personnel, contractors and third-country nationals may have been sickened by contamination at the largest U.S. installation in Iraq, home to more than 30,000 service members, Defense Department civilians and contractor personnel.

“Defendants promised the United States government that they would supply safe water for hygienic and recreational uses, safe food supplies and properly operate base incinerators to dispose of medical waste safely,” according to the lawsuit, filed Nov. 26 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. “Defendants utterly failed to perform their promised duties.”

Eller filed his claim after he deployed in February 2006 for 10 months. The lawsuit claims he developed skin lesions that subsequently spread, filled with fluid and burst. He said they went away, then reappeared, followed by blisters on his feet that made it painful for him to walk. He said they healed, but continue to return every three to four months.

Then, Eller said he experienced vomiting, cramping and diarrhea, and continues to suffer severe abdominal pain.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/military_kbr_lawsuit_121508w/%2e