Lawsuit claims some National Guardsmen were poisoned in Iraq

Right now, there are seven West Virginian guardsmen named in the case. The men join more than 50 nationwide who were stationed in Iraq guarding a water plant operated by KBR, Inc, and say the contractor exposed them to a known carcinogen during their deployment.

Michael Simon is a lawyer in Weirton who is representing the West Virginians in the lawsuit.

“This case centers around a project that KBR was charged to do,” Simon said. “It was to do the restoration of a water plant in southern Iraq, so that the facility could resume pumping water into Iraqi oil wells for more consistent oil flow.

“And it’s our allegation that they used this carcinogen and exposed the National Guardsmen to them and several of the National Guardsmen have suffered illnesses or could potentially suffer illnesses as a result of being exposed to the hexavalent chromium.”

Hexavalent chromium is used as an anticorrosive, but has also been shown to cause cancer.

It’s the chemical made famous in the 2000 film, Erin Brockovich. The movie tells the true story of residents of a small California town who won a multi-million dollar lawsuit after their water was poisoned by the chemical compound.

“The dangers are recognized and you should have breathing apparatus and other precautions should be taken when using it or being indirectly exposed to it,” Simon said.

He added that the National Guardsmen weren’t informed they should be taking any precautions.

Simon says his clients were repeatedly told there was no danger on the site, even after the blood-testing of civilians at the site showed elevated chromium levels. His clients are suing for medical costs and medical monitoring.

“First and foremost their health is of the utmost importance and they want to make sure they don’t incur bills, nor should the U.S. taxpayer incur bills if these guardsmen become ill,” he said. “One of the things we seek in the complaint is that the defendants be responsible for the medical monitoring of these guardsmen that were exposed.”

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in West Virginia’s Northern District on Thursday. 

KBR denies any wrongdoing. In a statement, the company said it found the chemical at the plant, restricted access, cleaned it up and did not knowingly harm troops.