KBR: Iraq contractor fights suit over toxic exposure (Tax loophole may subject firm to damages)

[Earth_First]

WASHINGTON - 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.

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.

But the workers, like all employees injured in Iraq, face an uphill struggle in their quest for damages. Under a World War II-era federal workers compensation law, employers are generally protected from employee lawsuits, except in rare cases in which it can be proven that the company intentionally harmed its employees or committed outright fraud.

KBR is citing the law, called the Defense Base Act, as grounds to reject the workers' request for damages.

But the company's own actions have undermined its case: To avoid payroll taxes for its American employees, KBR hired the workers through two subsidiaries registered in the Cayman Islands, part of a strategy that has allowed KBR to dodge hundreds of millions of dollars in Social Security and Medicare taxes.

More: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/25/iraq_contractor_fights_suit_over_toxic_exposure/?page=1

Sorry if this was posted yesterday.

I heard this on Amy Goodman's program tonight, and I thought it warranted a post to bring attention to the workers' rights and perhaps (finally) The Corporation being held liable through loopholes which they helped to create.

[ItsNeverOver]

1. The List of Casualties by KBR's Negligence is Never-Ending

You'll probably read and hear a lot in the mainstream media this week about the somber milestone we've reached in Iraq -- 4,000 U.S. troops dead. But you're unlikely to hear or read much of anything about the 12 deaths, and possibly more, caused not by enemy combatants, but by the lethal negligence by the private military contractor KBR.

We might not even know about the deaths at all were it not for the determination of Cheryl Harris. In January Harris's son, Sgt. Ryan Maseth, was electrocuted while taking a shower at his military base. Harris was told by the military that her son took a small appliance into the shower area. Harris didn't believe it. Now, thanks to her persistence, she uncovered documents that reveal Ryan was killed when a pump shorted out after he stepped into the shower and turned on the water.

Last week Harris filed a lawsuit in state court against KBR, the defense contractor that was in charge of inspecting the wiring at the base where Sgt. Maseth died. The lawsuit brought attention to at least 11 other fatal electrocutions in Iraq, leading to both a congressional investigation and a Pentagon inquiry.

Cheryl Harris is doing her part to expose how KBR has recklessly endangered our troops. Let's do ours. Help us shine a spotlight on KBR's negligence.
KBR has made it clear that the lives of our troops and security for the American people is worth nothing compared to the billions of dollars they have reaped from their lucrative contracts. They seem confident in their ability to get away with reckless behavior without any form of accountability coming from their employer, the Pentagon. And given a Pentagon official's joking dismissal of earlier reports that KBR supplied contaminated water to the troops, it seems like KBR might be right.

You can join Cheryl Harris in proving KBR wrong.

Send a message to KBR that the American public will not stand for the negligent treatment of our troops. Advocate for the men and women who protect our security and represent our community abroad.

Click here to sign Progressive Future's petition to the Pentagon demanding serious accountability for the actions of private contractors in Iraq.