The first lawsuit has surfaced in connection with the health risks associated with the Balad, Iraq burn pit.
If you recall, I blogged previously about this issue here and here. I am focusing on this topic because not only is it a legitimate concern of the military and civilian personnel deployed into it’s vacinity, but also because I WAS one of the many soldiers stationed next to the burn pit for 12 months.
Two years after a memo was published about the dangers of the Balad burn pit by environmental engineer Darrin Curtis, who served with the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group at Balad from September 2006 to January 2007, we have our first lawsuit against KBR and Halliburton:
A Georgia man has filed a class-action lawsuit against KBR and Halliburton, saying the contractors exposed everyone at Joint Base Balad in Iraq to unsafe water, food and hazardous fumes from the burn pit there.
Joshua Eller, who worked as a civilian computer-aided drafting technician with the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, said military personnel, contractors and third-country nationals may have been sickened by contamination at the largest U.S. installation in Iraq, home to more than 30,000 service members, Defense Department civilians and contractor personnel.
[...]
Eller filed his claim after he deployed in February 2006 for 10 months. The lawsuit claims he developed skin lesions that subsequently spread, filled with fluid and burst. He said they went away, then reappeared, followed by blisters on his feet that made it painful for him to walk. He said they healed, but continue to return every three to four months.
Then, Eller said he experienced vomiting, cramping and diarrhea, and continues to suffer severe abdominal pain.
“Plaintiff witnessed the open air burn pit in operation at Balad Air Force Base,” the lawsuit states. “On one occasion, he witnessed a wild dog running around base with a human arm in its mouth. The human arm had been dumped on the open air burn pit by KBR.”
And from my other website, American Babble, where I documented by deployment and travels around the world, here are comments from other soldiers who were stationed in Balad too:
I was stationed at ANACONDA in 2006 as a civilian and had first hand incounters with this “Burn Pit”. I remember specificlly, the amount of plastics and small arms amunition that I saw in this pit, even burning paint and paint cans. I was exposed to the Burn Pit for about an hour and a half and recall getting rather sick that same evening to the point I went to the clinic there on post. Another place that has a serious problem with this is CAMP CUERO in Rahmadi, Iraq. I am not 100% sure that is the correct city but when they burn the pit on the south end of the camp it is horrible.
Jesse Marcel
I spent 13 months in Balad from 2004 to 2005. The fumes from that pit cannot be described. In the summer of 2005 I noted a weakness in my legs resulting in a foot drop which now requires leg supports to walk Neuroligical exam feels the cause is unknown, I have to feel the cause is from toxic agents exposed to from the burn pit.
Did anyone else note neurological problems associtated with being at Balad or other ares where uncontrolled burn pits were in operation. Jess Marcel
This is just the tip of the iceburg. Other sites reporting on the hazardous environment of Balad are reporting similar comments from soldiers and civilians who were stationed there in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
And the military’s response to the accusations? It’s classified.
By the way, I really suggest reading the whole story to see what else KBR/Haliburton is being sued for. The list also includes “serving spoiled, expired, and rotten food to troops… filling the swimming pool with unsafe water…. delivering ice in mortuary trucks that still had traces of body fluid and putrified remains”.
UPDATE:
For a minute I disregarded this 2nd article as the same one as above until I realized the lawsuits are from two different states:
INDIANAPOLIS — Sixteen Indiana National Guard soldiers sued defense contractor KBR Inc. on Wednesday, saying its employees knowingly allowed them to be exposed to a toxic chemical in Iraq five years ago.
[...]
Some of the soldiers who served at the site now have respiratory system tumors associated with hexavalent chromium exposure, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit seeks reimbursement for medical costs, monitoring for cancer and other health problems and unspecified monetary damages.
Pres. Bush won’t be around to protect you forever, Haliburton. Here comes the fallout.
Another UPDATE:
From CNN:
Mark McManaway, a father and grandfather, was an Indiana National Guard sergeant at the water plant from May through September 2003, when the worst exposures are believed to have occurred. He is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
“The worst part is that the military has only just recently advised us that the stuff we were exposed to was much worse than they thought while we were out there,” said McManaway. “It’s in our bodies, but we don’t know how bad it is. Maybe within the next five years cancers could start showing up. You’ve got a ticking time bomb in you — and when’s it going to go off?”
The U.S. military is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
(Clarification: The above lawsuit filed against KBR/Haliburton is in reference to soldiers exposed to chemicals at the Qarmat Ali water pumping plant in southern Iraq and not the Balad burn pit. This additional article was posted to show a pattern of neglegence by KBR/Haliburton.)
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Remember Erin Brokovich? That’s the same poison that KBR is using!
When will we ever learn from Julie Roberts?!? When!!?
Has any one fact checked this? KBR doesn’t run the Balad burn pit. Never has. It’s run by a TCN contracter!!
I was a civilian contractor assigned to Balad AB in 2005/2006. My office was near the pit. I remember inhaling the fumes daily and the concern of their effects on my health. The base was often clouded by the smoke from the pit. The pit was located right beside the main road which "Circled" the base.
I saw plastics and much more being burned in the pit. Large black birds would hover over the pits in search of food items or whatever was edible and didn't burn. I would always attempt to hold my breath as I passed the pit even though the speed limit was around 10 mph on the base. Not a pleasant memory.
The concern is mostly for troops stationed at Balad prior to 2007. Right now there are incinerators that have replaced the open air burn pit and the air is infinitely cleaner than it was in 2003-2006. If your husband just got there 3 months ago, then he will be fine in regards to the air quality. You should be more concerned about mortar rounds if that's even a threat anymore, I have no idea. Iraq has become really calm this last year. You should feel lucky that he's deployed to Balad.
My husband as in iraq he was near the burning pit he was there from 2006-2007 my husband didnt have bronchitis before he has been very sick since he came back. I see my husband suffer with this medical condition every day he gets sick very offen im worried about him
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/r-b-stuart/leukemia...
Please see the above link, we as Americans have to do something to and stand up for those protecting us!
First of all, please be sure to report any medical concerns you have to your local VA clinic or chain of command. It's best to get it documented as soon as possible in case you need to take any future action.
Secondly, statistics show without a doubt that indirect fire attacks on the Balad airbase have dropped off compared to previous years. I'm not saying that they don't exist but they're certainly less prominent than previous years.
Thirdly, thank you for your service and welcome home.
You're right Deb. I worked at Balad for 31 months ending November 12, 2008. Why did I leave? I had emergency surgery for cancer at the base. The black cloud was evident the whole time I was there. KBR could not get the incinerators working.
Balad may be in the headlines but there are more burn pits theatre wide. I have been in Taji, just south of Balad, for 5 years. The pit has yet to be shut down. KBR just recently set up 1 incinerator which does not operate very often. We have a front row seat from our facility and see, smell, and taste it on almost a daily basis depending on the wind. Especially when walking to the chow hall which is a rocks throw from “The Pit”. We know when KBR is burning mattresses from the large amounts of thick black smoke rising. We hear rounds and other unknowns going off all the time. We hope the second incinerator is set up soon but it is highly doubtful the burn pit will be shut down.
First of all, things have changed a lot in the last 5 years when we first took over Balad airbase. For the majority of that time, the burn pit was functioning in the most unsafe way regardless of who it was running.
Secondly, TCN contractors have not always run the burn pit. There was a time when we had American engineer soldiers running those construction machines pushing the burning filth around.
The “hooplah” surrounding it’s fallout are from a specific time period prior to incinerators and the recycling center being installed. It’s far more complicated than you think with responsibility of damage being placed on the military and the contractors involved.
I think regardless of whether they’ve fixed the problem or not (with incinerators and recycling), WHO EVER was responsible let it go on for FIVE years. There are serious medical problems surfacing in the soldiers who were stationed there for year long deployments. But in years past, Halliburton and KBR were in command of LSA Annaconda (Joint Base Balad). It’s that specific time period that is involved in the lawsuit.
GERAT! MY HUSBAND GOT THERE 3 MONTHS AGO AND NOW IF HE MAKES IT HOME I GUESS IT WONT BE FOR LONG.
Just make sure your hubby marks it on his PDHA (he'll know what it is) that he was exposed, even since they put in the incinerators.
Is there any thing else i can do?? I have told him about this and he just blows it off. Maybe he is doing that for me. He said he had a new report and what the army found was everything was ok. But i think that is bull. Is there any thing i should get copys of and keep?
Hi Jami Your wrong. Anyone stationed at Balad should be very concerned at any time stationed there. I left on Nov 23,2008 and if they had incinerators you sure could not tell it. I worked a few miles down the road from the burn pit and we could see the smoke rising in the air from our Maintenance shop. Call it a Large Black smoke plume rising in the air. And we could smell the noxious odor too. It's been rumored they did not get the incinerator working. Your wrong the air quality is just as bad and I question my respiratory functions right now. Yes they have mortar attacks, rocket attacks and indirect fire each and every day. Nothing has changed. Your wrong no one should feel lucky to be in Balad, and you should know your subject before giving advice.
Do online research, learn about the issues in Balad. Keep a diary of issues you find with him, just as I am doing now since I am so concerned with symptoms I now have. He is blowing off the issue due to his inability to recognize a real issue that he is facing. If he is doing it for you then he needs to regroup and think about this. I don't know what report he has seen in regards to everything being ok. He must be in denial if he believes all the crap the military throws at him, again he needs to realize everything is not ok. Yes do some research and read blogs on other soldiers who are complaining of health issues since their return from deployment. And tell him it's time to quit sucking it up and get on with the issues at hand. If nothing else take care of him and help him go through the proper channels to get checked out. Support your soldier.