The “disturbing chronicle” of KBR’s contracting abuses in Iraq

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), the Chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, presided over a hearing on “The Exposure at Qarmat Ali: Contractor Misconduct and the Safety of U.S. Troops in Iraq.” Testimonies were presented on how Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) exposed its own workers, U.S. troops, British troops, and Iraqis to Sodium Dichromate, a highly toxic, cancer-causing chemical. Dorgan said that he could not believe the Bush Administration would block efforts to hold KBR accountable when the company knew that workers were being exposed to very dangerous chemicals.

Danny Langford, a former KBR employee who worked in the most contaminated room at the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant, talked about his experience there in 2003, and the damage it caused to his health. Langford said that he was called to work on a Halliburton/KBR project called Restore Iraqi Oil where he would repair water intake, injection, and backwash pumps. He said that he immediately noticed that the entire treatment plant was covered in a layer of bright orangish dust. Langford had no protective equipment to wear and after only two weeks began having a sore throat, irritated nasal passages, a hacking cough, and irritated eyes.

Langford continued to work at the plant even though he felt his health was at risk. A safety meeting was held in Kuwait after a couple of weeks, yet nothing was resolved. When Langford asked about the supposed chromium contamination, he was told that it was “at most a minor irritant” and that “exposure to it would not pose any serious health risk.” It wasn’t until a couple months after his arrival in Iraq that Langford was told that the plant was being shut down. He came back to United States and has been in and out of the hospital since then. Langford was in good health prior to going to Iraq and now has extremely elevated blood pressure, extremely high levels of chromium in his blood, a serious infection of unknown origin, and severely irritated lungs.

Edward Blacke, a former Health, Safety Environment Coordinator for KBR, also spoke about his experience in Iraq. He also immediately noticed the reddish-orangish material spread on the ground of the plant, but when he requested information on the material he was advised that it was a non-issue. Blacke also began experiencing the same symptoms that Langford did and undertook a more depth assessment of the plant. He found out that the orange dust was the chemical Sodium Dichromate which was injected into the water supply system for the oil fields as an anti-corrosive. Blacke reported his findings and insisted that immediate action be taken, but instead workers were told that the chemical was a mild irritant at worst and that the plant was safe. Blacke was directed to be quiet and was “asked” to leave the plant.

Blacke said that he later found out that the levels of chromium from ground samples at the plant were at highly dangerous and unsafe levels and were objective facts known by KBR management. Even though KBR knew all about the dangerous chemicals, they made the conscious decision to continue to expose the American workers, the Iraqi workers, the American military personnel, and the British military personnel at the plant to these horrific conditions. Dorgan said that the behavior of KBR is horrific, but the fact that the Bush Administration will not hold KBR accountable for its behavior is “just despicable.”