The veterans are suing civilian contractor KBR Inc. for not warning them of the dangers they faced protecting KBR workers at an Iraqi water treatment plant.
The lawsuit claims the National Guard veterans were exposed to hexavalent chromium. That’s the same chemical made famous in the movie “Erin Brokovich” for sickening people in a small California town.
Thirty-four-year-old Russell Powell of Moundsville is one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against KBR and two of its subsidiaries.
In April 2003, the West Virginia National Guard’s 1092nd Engineering Battalion was the first to arrive at a water treatment plant in Southern Iraq.
Recently in his living room, he flipped through photos of himself and other soldiers protecting KBR workers at the plant. These pictures also show how little protection soldiers had against the chemical being stored there.
“There we are in our non-protective gear, getting ready to go to the water treatment plant,” he said. “I never look it at. I try to keep it hidden like everybody else.”
The soldiers, known as “shooters,” were hired along with some British troops to provide security for KBR workers as they repaired the plant.
Powell says they couldn’t help but notice a strange powder that coating their uniforms, even their food.
“What we saw was orange-yellowish dust everywhere. None of us knew what it was. We would just lay in it, provide security laying on the ground and set up defensive fighting positions while these KBR employees worked,” he said.
Powell served as the head paramedic of his battalion. He says soon after they arrived, several of his soldiers started to get sick.
“We all started to get nose bleeds, having a hard time breathing, rashes all over our body. They would say ‘Doc, what is wrong with me?’Powell told them to take antihistamine because they may be allergic to something, but nothing worked.
“Then I started getting it. I don’t even know what is going on,” he said.
Powell says he became even more frustrated when his reports of mysterious illnesses were ignored by KBR officials.
“Dust storms would come through that water treatment plant and everybody was getting sick, even KBR members were getting sick. Of course, KBR would come back and say it was dry air; everything is good to go here.
“Of course as soldiers, we don’t know and say O.K. and keep going on.”
In July 2003, Indiana National Guard members relieved Powell and his battalion. But he says the symptoms that plagued him and his fellow soldiers never went away.
Now, many of them have been diagnosed with respiratory tumors and other illnesses. Some have died. Like Powell, many of them have been making trips to VA Hospitals for treatment while searching for answers.
Hexavalent chromium is a toxic chemical Iraqis used to prevent pipe corrosion at the water treatment plant. Studies have linked the chemical to several to several diseases, including liver, kidney and bone cancers.
Pieces of the puzzle began to take shape in June 2008, when Congressional hearings on the issue revealed the extent of the exposure to hexavelant chromium.Mike Simon, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven West Virginia soldiers, says KBR profited financially at their expense.
“West Virginia National Guardsmen were repeatedly told that there was no danger at the site and this was even after KBR managers knew that blood testing of American civilians confirmed elevated chromium levels,” Simon said.
“The fact that some of these men are getting sick, it shouldn’t be the responsibility of taxpayers. It should be the responsibility of the company that we believe is at fault for exposing these men for several months.”
KBR denies any wrongdoing saying it did not knowingly harm troops.
The company says that it found the chemical, restricted access and cleaned it up.KBR also contends that it conducted its own air quality and blood testing. But Powell says his battalion never was tested.
“I don’t think Congress knows or the U.S. Senate knows that the West Virginia Army National Guard was never tested for chemicals while we were over there,” Powell said.
“But KBR insists that we were tested. It never happened. Being the head medic for the battalion, I would know if we were tested because I would be part of it. Maybe other troops from Indiana, Oregon were down the road but the WV National Guard was never tested.”
No matter what happens next with the lawsuit, Powell and the other National Guard Veterans are worried about their long-term health. His illness forced him to leave the military after 15 years of service and take a desk job with the State Division of Corrections.
He’s afraid he might not be able to even keep that job. In his living room he rubs his hands together as he looks at photos of his wife Cynthia and his two young sons.
“I used to do triathlons. I can’t go out and run, bike or swim or do the things that I enjoyed. I was a very active person and now I can’t be active anymore,” Powell said.
“It’s tough, especially for my family because my kids look up to me as coach and I can’t even do that anymore.” More Congressional hearings on the matter are expected to take place sometime this year.
KBR still has not responded to the federal lawsuit.