Ark. man, others blame KBR for contaminants in Iraq

[struggle4progress]

Source: Associated Press

June 21, 2008, 3:20PM
Ark. man, others blame KBR for contaminants in Iraq

WASHINGTON — 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 ...

Sodium dichromate, a reddish-orange dust, was strewn all over the ground and equipment at the plant, Blacke said. He told the panel he thought Houston-based KBR ignored the danger of the chemical so as not to slow down its work ...

Nine workers have sued the company because of exposure to the toxic dust at Qarmat Ali ...

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/5849937.html

[maddezmom]

1. also see this thread: KBR tax loophole raises new questions

KBR tax loophole raises new questions By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer
37 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - When it comes to paying federal taxes on its workers in Iraq, KBR says it was exempt because they were foreign hands hired through subsidiaries in the Cayman Islands.

But when it comes to job-related injuries, including those at an Iraqi water plant, the Houston-based defense contractor says those same workers are Americans who must file their grievances with the U.S. government.

Under federal compensation laws, U.S. companies working for the government in Iraq and elsewhere overseas are mostly shielded from employee lawsuits. The 1941 Defense Base Act entitles injured workers instead to government-funded medical care and other benefits.

"It's an unbelievable hypocrisy," Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, said of KBR's position.

When asked to respond, KBR, which split from Halliburton last year, said it established its overseas subsidiaries in accordance with the law.

more: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3361275&mesg_id=3361275

[struggle4progress]

2. thanks!

[barbtries]

3. i hope they clean them out

the greedy bastards. aargh

[gratuitous]

4. Uh oh

Looks like we'll have another round of corporate immunity legislation that needs to get passed. In a bipartisan, let-bygones-be-bygones kind of way, naturally.

[trashcanistanista]

6. Nah,

contractors such as KBR, Halliburton and Blackwater can not be held accountable for any crimes committed in Iraq. It already is law, no need to pass anything else. This was taken care of before they even went over there.

[Barrett808]

5. k & r