[CPEO-MEF] GLOBAL, HEALTH: "Oregon soldiers gain victory in fight against carcinogen"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Oregon soldiers gain victory in fight against carcinogen

By MIKE FRANCIS
The Oregonian
September 29, 2011

The Defense Department and contractor Kellogg, Brown & Root failed to  
act as quickly as they should have to protect those exposed to a  
carcinogenic chemical at an Iraqi water treatment plant in 2003,  
according to a report Wednesday by the Defense Department’s Inspector  
General.

The report was hailed as a victory for Oregon soldiers by Sen. Ron  
Wyden, D-Ore., who was one of a group of senators who sought the IG’s  
evaluation, and by Oregon National Guard troops who are among those  
suing KBR. They accuse the contractor of knowingly exposing them to  
sodium dichromate, an anticorrosive compound that can cause skin and  
breathing problems and cancer.

Because KBR “did not fully comply with occupational safety and health  
standards required” under its contract with the Army, the Inspector  
General found, “a greater number of Service members and DoD civilian  
employees were exposed to sodium dichromate, and for longer periods,  
increasing the potential for chronic health effects.”

The report found that “nearly 1,000 Army soldiers and civilian  
employees were exposed to the compound in the five months it took  
from the initial site visit until the military command required  
personal protective equipment.”


...

For the entire article, see
http://www.eastoregonian.com/news/nation_world/oregon-soldiers-gain- 
victory-in-fight-against-carcinogen/article_c7959a82- 
eac7-11e0-92e2-001cc4c03286.html

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org