| DEMS TO HOLD
HEARING ON CHEMICAL EXPOSURE IN IRAQ
U.S. Senate Democratic Policy
Committee will look at sodium dichromate (hexavalent chromium)
exposure at KBR water plant.
NOTE from
Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org
... Be sure to visit our Iraq
War Toxins page for more about this issue and burn pits.
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SENATE DPC TO EXAMINE ARMY’S RESPONSE
TO EXPOSURE OF TROOPS IN IRAQ TO DEADLY CHEMICAL
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- The U.S. Senate
Democratic Policy Committee will conduct a congressional oversight
hearing, Monday, August 3, to examine whether the U.S. Army
responded appropriately to the exposure of hundreds of U.S. troops
to a deadly carcinogen at a water injection facility in Iraq.
The 2:00 PM hearing will be held in
Room 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Witnesses will include National Guard
members from Indiana, Oregon and
 West
Virginia who were exposed to sodium dichromate at Qarmat Ali, a
water injection facility in 2003. Also scheduled to testify is one
of the world’s leading experts on health risks associated with
exposure to sodium dichromate.
Military contractor KBR had the
contract for cleaning up Qarmat Ali, which provided water to Iraq
oil pipelines and which was critical to the U.S. effort to restore
the Iraqi economy after the invasion. Sodium dichromate was found
throughout the site. In some places it was several inches thick
and filled the air during frequent windstorms.
KBR’s role in the exposure of troops
was examined at a June 20, 2008, DPC hearing which found multiple
failures to take action to protect troops. The August 3 hearing
will examine whether the Army responded appropriately to KBR’s
actions, including whether the Army followed up with exposed
soldiers to ensure they were tested, monitored, and received
potentially life-saving medical treatment.
“Our previous hearing found KBR’s
failures to be widespread and serious,” Dorgan said. “Now, we want
to know whether the Army held KBR accountable and acted quickly to
protect soldiers when KBR failed to do so. Did the Army tell
soldiers the truth about the exposure and its health consequences?
After the exposure, did the Army properly test and monitor the
soldiers who were exposed and make sure they received the
treatment they need?” Details follow:
WHO: Senators: Byron Dorgan (D-ND),
Chairman; Evan Bayh (D-IN); Sheldon
Whitehouse (D-RI); and others.
Witnesses: Russell Kimberling, former
Indiana National Guard member; Rocky Bixby, former Oregon National
Guard member; Russell Powell, former West Virginia National Guard
member; Herman Gibb, Ph.D., expert on health risks associated with
exposure to sodium dichromate.
WHAT: Congressional oversight hearing
WHERE: Room 628 Dirksen Senate Office
Building
WHEN: 2:00 PM, Monday, August 3, 2009
WHY: To examine the appropriateness of
the Army’s response to the exposure of U.S. troops to a deadly
carcinogen in Iraq by military contractor KBR.
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TOPICS:
veterans, veterans' benefits, VA, Department of Veterans' Affairs,
Iraq War Toxins, sodium dichromate, hexavalent chromium, burn pits
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