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VA creates new registry for soldiers exposed to hexavalent chromium in Iraq
In the weeks after the invasion of Iraq, National Guard shooter teams were dispatched across oil fields to protect Kellogg, Brown and Root contractors working to restore oil production. Some soldiers arrived at a decrepit water-treatment facility outside Basra. There, a corrosion fighter that contained hexavalent chromium colored the desert sand orange and was, according to Senate testimony, "piled like snow."Troops who complained of the dust were told they had sand allergies. Months later, and after some soldiers developed holes in their nasal septums (called chrome nose), skin rashes or had other health problems, a KBR safety manager raised enough of an alarm to get the plant closed down. Units from Oregon, Indiana, West Virginia and South Carolina and individual soldiers from 17 other states had already guarded the plant between April and September, 2003. The Army investigated Qarmat Ali in October -- after a cleanup -- and deemed there was little long-term risk to troops. It wasn't until former KBR employees complained of their own health problems to Senate Democrats in 2008 that the extent of exposure became known. Twenty-six Oregon Guard, most of whom only became aware of the hazard of exposure by stories reported in the Oregonian, and more than 140 Indiana Guard have sued the defense contractor, claiming KBR managers downplayed or deceived soldiers about the hexavalent chromium risk. KBR was racing to complete the $2.5 billion contract for Restore Iraqi Oil. Meanwhile, VA Sec. Eric Shinseki has focused more attention on environmental hazards of military service. On Wednesday the VA announced $2.8 million in new research into Gulf War illness. The Qarmat Ali program is a subset of the Gulf War Registry, established in late 1992. Cassano said she will be in Portland on Monday to train VA doctors, social workers and compensation and benefit employees on health markers of hexavalent chromium exposure. She plans similar trainings around the country. Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-07-23 |
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