[Vision2020] Complaint says KBR knew of toxins in Iraq

[Art Deco]

Sad.  Very sad.

Those that are paid millions, billions to serve and protect our military
personnel are such crooks, cheats, and liars.

I hope huge punitive damages are awarded.

w.

On Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 2:25 PM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

> Courtesy of the Army Times at:
>
> http://www.ArmyTimes.com
>
> ----------------------------------
>
> Complaint says KBR knew of toxins in Iraq
>
> PORTLAND, Ore. — A document uncovered by attorneys for soldiers sickened
> at an Iraqi water treatment plant shows a military contractor knew a deadly
> toxin was being stockpiled and used in massive quantities at the facility,
> despite the contractor’s repeated denials that it had knowledge of the
> toxin’s presence until soldiers fell ill.
>
> The document, an environmental assessment that Kellogg, Brown and Root
> completed for the U.S. government before the invasion of Iraq, was
> finalized in January 2003 — a full five months before the company said it
> had found evidence of the toxic material, sodium dichromate.
>
> The documents show KBR knew Iraqis ordered 8 million pounds of sodium
> dichromate to keep pipes from corroding, and that the company expected lax
> environmental maintenance and “lamentable” conditions.
>
> Phone messages and emails left Wednesday for KBR were not immediately
> returned.
>
> Sodium dichromate is an anticorrosive compound that can cause skin and
> breathing problems and cancer.
>
> The Oregon National Guard soldiers, suffering from myriad respiratory
> problems, migraines and lung issues, sued KBR in June 2009, seeking
> economic damages they say they’ll determine at trial.
>
> A complaint in the lawsuit first obtained by The Associated Press and
> filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Oregon alleges KBR knew about the
> presence of sodium dichromate at the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant
> months before the date they originally gave in testimony and depositions.
>
> U.S. forces reached the water treatment plant in late March or early April
> 2003. Three KBR executives deposed by the soldiers’ attorneys in 2010 said
> they couldn’t recall information about events in March, April and May 2003,
> including whether the toxic material was cleaned up before soldiers got
> there.
>
> “It’s a black hole for me,” said KBR manager Charles Edward Johnson. “I
> don’t remember.”
>
> The company acknowledged the presence of sodium dichromate in July 2003.
>
> The soldiers say they only learned of the alleged misrepresentation in
> late February, after a Department of Defense inspector general
> investigation directed them to a 2002 KBR assessment of the plant.
>
> Attorneys for the soldiers called the company’s earlier explanation
> “deliberate, calculated concealment,” according to the complaint. Guard
> soldiers from Oregon, Indiana and West Virginia who provided security at
> the Qarmat Ali water plant are involved in suits against KBR.
>
> The U.S. Defense Department’s inspector general issued a report in late
> September that faults KBR for failing to comply with safety and health
> standards at the plant and not acting as quickly as it could have to
> protect soldiers and civilians from exposure. Nearly 1,000 Army soldiers
> and civilian employees being exposed to sodium dichromate over five months.
>
> The motion issued Wednesday requests monetary damages, or forcing KBR to
> identify everyone who knew of the assessment and allow lawyers to depose
> them.
>
> The attorneys found the assessment in late February. Before filing the
> motion on Wednesday, they conducted a deposition with John Weatherly, the
> lead contractor liaison with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
>
> He was asked by the soldiers’ attorneys how clear it was, given the
> newly-revealed assessment, that KBR knew of the chemicals at the latest by
> January 2003.
>
> “From the dates on the documents,” he said, “it should be obvious.”
>
> ----------------------------------
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "If not us, who?
> If not now, when?"
>
> - Unknown
>
>
>
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-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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