Iraq contractor fights suit over toxic exposure

Sodium dichromate is known to be a highly toxic chemical which can lead to cancer even with limited exposure. Hallburton subsidiary KBR told employees in Iraq this sand-like substance that was scattered around a water injection plant, which is used as part of Iraq’s oil production infrastructure, that it was just a “mild irritant”. Now nine Americans are suing KBR after spending 2 1/2 months covered in the substance. Naturally KBR claims it isn’t obliged to pay damages.

When the American team arrived in Iraq in the summer of 2003 to repair the Qarmat Ali water injection plant, supervisors told them the orange, sand-like substance strewn around the looted facility was just a “mild irritant,” workers recall.

The workers got it on their hands and clothing every day while racing for 2 1/2 months to meet a deadline to get the plant, a crucial part of Iraq’s oil infrastructure, up and running.

But the chemical turned out to be sodium dichromate, a substance so dangerous that even limited exposure greatly increases the risk of cancer. Soon, many of the 22 Americans and 100-plus Iraqis began to complain of nosebleeds, ulcers, and shortness of breath. Within weeks, nearly 60 percent exhibited symptoms of exposure, according to the minutes of a meeting of project managers from KBR, the Houston-based construction company in charge of the repairs.

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I have visited the slums of San Paulo, and I have seen the northern lights from the Lapland's, rather than exploring the world between CNN and FOX, as many of my countrymen do. The reference to Alexander has much to do with the quest for knowledge...